IN PICS | Treasure trove slowly regaining glory

What is regarded as one of Port Elizabeth’s most ornate, exquisite and historical pieces of architecture, and a centre of study and enjoyment of literature for decades, is on the road to a full recovery.

The iconic Port Elizabeth Main Library – which has been closed for about four years due to water damage but used to be a hub of quiet page-turning by book lovers, students and researchers – is set to reopen in all its former glory in three years’ time, if all goes according to plan.

An extensive refurbishment project will see new features and modern additions incorporated into what is regarded as one of the finest examples of Victorian Gothic design around.

A new stained glass window depicting former president Nelson Mandela reading to a group of children will be added to the building as well as a new extension on the St Mary’s Terrace side, where a proposed lift for disabled people to access all floors will be installed.

The estimated date of completion is 2021 – provided the necessary support and budget costs are met by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.

The maintenance of one of the city’s oldest heritage sites currently stands at R37-million for all the contracts involved.

The iconic landmark in Govan Mbeki Avenue – which was built in 1902 – has been closed since October 2014 due to water damage.

Port Elizabeth architecture group Matrix Urban Designers and Architects, who have been working on the project since September 2014, are in the first phase of the refurbishment process.

Matrix architect director Albrecht Herholdt led a site tour yesterday with sport, recreation, arts and culture council members in the Bay.

“The library is very intensely used, with about 3 000 student bed units in the CBD and North End alone, and EduCollege [which] has over 1 000 pupils, so it plays a very important role in that aspect,” Herholdt said.

“It also contains very intricate and valuable documents and books which are beneficial not only to those who live in the CBD, but also in the broader city.

“This historical building is also of great value because it is a beautiful building not only in the city but [for] the country.

“And it is an exciting project for the city too.”

Herholdt said they were about halfway done with the first phase of refurbishments, set to be completed by December.

While the majority of the books are in storage at the Struanway storage facility, the rest – which have been provisionally stored in the Africana section of the library and other parts of the building – will be cleaned and stored temporarily in the children’s library.

Many of the beautifully bound old books – including a massive catalogue of classics – sit on towering shelves in these other areas because there was no space for them in storage. But after being cleaned and with refurbishment complete, they will be returned to their rightful place.

Ward 39 councillor Margaret de Andrade, who had been petitioning for three years to have a site visit to the Main Library, said: “I am very happy with what has been done so far but with regards to all the other libraries in the city, they do need refurbishment as well.

“We will make budgets available for these kinds of projects because a library is a place where children can break away and transform into a different world.

“Readers are important because they become our leaders in our country.”

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality library manager Yvonne Skinner, who manages nine libraries in the metro, said the refurbishment project was a great initiative.

“We are extremely grateful that the metro was able to rehabilitate this building,” she said.

“It is a beautiful example of Victorian Gothic architecture and was brought piecemeal to South Africa and put together.

“It is an extremely valuable part of Port Elizabeth and the metro as a whole, and it is great that we are slowly but surely getting there in restoring it to its former glory.”