Saratoga News
News
Sturdy Book-Go-Round building survives blow from a mighty oak
By Jason Sweeney
The 40-foot oak tree that crashed onto the roof of the Book-Go-Round would have crushed an average building. However, the Book-Go-Round is made of sturdier stuff.
After several weeks of heavy rain, the old oak on Highway 9 toppled onto the roof of the Book-Go-Round the morning of April 13. The tree crushed some of the red tiles on the roof, but the building sustained only minor damage.
The tree was quickly chopped up and hauled away. The Book-Go-Round was then back in business, barely missing a beat. The big oak that fell on its roof caused the store to close its doors for just one day.
The rainfall was blamed for undermining the tree's root structure and causing it to collapse. Several people witnessed the tree fall that morning. Witnesses described a thundering crash, splintering wood and the smashing roof tiles. No one was hurt when the tree came down. John McCartney, the lone person inside the building, was shelving books when he heard a loud sound and looked out the window to see the tree falling toward him. The roof held up and he escaped unscathed.
In the April 19 issue of the Saratoga News, the tree was described as being 150 years old. However, tree rings in a section of the trunk reveal that the oak was between 80 and 100 years old.
With the tree removed, workmen from the city of Saratoga completed repairs on the Book-Go-Round's roof on April 26.
"It was a very large and heavy tree, and we're lucky it didn't cause any more damage," said Mary Jeanne Fenn, manager of the Book-Go-Round. "We're calling the building our bunker--the Book-Go-Round bunker."
The Book-Go-Round building was constructed in 1927. The architect, Eldridge Spencer, designed the building to serve as the Saratoga Library. Spencer built the sturdy, rectangular structure out of concrete blocks. While Spencer has long since passed on, his buildings still stand throughout the Bay Area, and his architectural firm, Spencer Associates, is still doing business in Palo Alto.
Volunteers from the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries run the Book-Go-Round as a used bookstore. The bookstore began operating 23 years ago shortly after the Saratoga Library moved to its present location on the corner of Saratoga and Fruitvale avenues. About 150 volunteers keep the Book-Go-Round in business. All books for sale are donated to the store. Proceeds from sales are then donated to the Saratoga Library. According to Fenn, the Book-Go-Round is popular with book dealers, collectors and with parents and children looking to buy children's books.
"We're a very economical way to build your home library," Fenn said. She said the store offers everything from the latest bestsellers to books on tape, and has also started stocking CDs and DVDs.
With the tree gone and no cracks or further damage apparent, it's back to business as usual at the Book-Go-Round.
"We're sorry to see that lovely oak go," Fenn said. "We'll miss its shade. I feel we ought to have a celebration day for the architect who had so much forethought to build such a strong building."
