Lake Forest Library has spent three years of construction keeping things the same. The copper dome over the Rotunda was rebuilt piece by piece and was never removed. The Remisoff murals beneath it were cleaned and stayed on the walls. The courtyards were taken apart and rebuilt to their original historic design. Patrons coming in at 360 E. Deerpath Road this fall find the circulation desk, the reading rooms and the walk from the front door to the stacks much as they have been for years.
The next phase works differently. The library's Historic Rooms Revitalization went out to bid on October 20, 2026. Its plans call for repositioning the service desks, public computers and print station, and for reconstructing the historic marble circulation desk. The library expects the work to begin in fall 2026 and continue into 2027, so this holiday season is likely the last time you'll walk through these rooms in the layout you know.
Three Phases That Left Everything in Place
The library calls this program its Building Centennial Projects, timed to the building's 100th birthday in 2031. Each phase so far repaired part of the building where it stood. The dome itself dates to the 1980s, when it replaced the original 1931 construction.
| Phase | When | What the work did | What patrons saw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dome restoration | March to August 2023 | Replaced wood framing, repaired limestone, installed copper panels and a new inlay gutter | Exterior scaffolding, closed courtyards, six back-lot parking spots used for staging, new books moved temporarily to the Reference Annex |
| Remisoff murals | Early spring 2024 | Parma Conservation stabilized flaking paint, filled cracks and losses, then cleaned and varnished every panel | Several weeks of conservators in the Rotunda |
| Courtyards | Mid-summer 2025 to spring 2026 | Salvaged brick and limestone, then added waterproofing, drainage, electrical, bluestone and new Foyer doors | Courtyards reopened May 21, 2026 |
The dome phase shows how slowly this kind of work can move. In 2017, buckling on one of the Rotunda mural panels led to an inspection, which found the dome leaking. The dome was tarped that same year. The Library Board hired Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates in December 2021 to investigate and design the repair, and contractors finished the dome on August 22, 2023. To thank patrons for their patience, the library gave out custom M&M'S.
What's Changing in the Rooms
The bid documents cover seven historic spaces: the exterior front door, the vestibule, the Foyer, the Rotunda, the Friends Reading Room, the Adult Services/Reference Room and the Reference Annex. The Business Collection Room gets selective demolition and new carpet. The scope listed in the project manual includes:
- Reconstruction of the historic marble circulation desk
- Restoration of the marble flooring and bronze metalwork
- New millwork and refinished wood paneling
- New and restored lighting, plus acoustic ceiling finishes
- New and restored HVAC grilles, carpeting, paint and signage
The library's own summary describes changes patrons will notice in daily use. The service desks, public computers and print station will be repositioned. The Foyer and Friends Reading Room get new furniture that can be rearranged for special events. The Reference Room fireplace will be restored with a seating area beside it, which gives the building a second working fireplace. The project also recreates original Clark-designed features, including ceiling vent covers and chandelier lightshades, and adds new doors in the entry vestibule, the Friends Reading Room and the Reference Room. Every space gets more electrical outlets, period-appropriate furniture and window treatments, and what the library calls "more functional pathways with better flow between areas."
Those pathways are the real change, because this phase reaches the floor plan.
The architect is Vinci | Hamp Architects of Chicago. The bid documents call for phased construction. The library intends to keep using the rest of the building for normal operations throughout, and contractors must schedule around it.
What's Worth Seeing Before the Work Starts
Some of what you'll see this winter will look different afterward. Some of it, like the murals, was restored two years ago and isn't part of this project.
The archer. The building was a gift to the City of Lake Forest from sisters Helen Shedd Reed Keith and Laura Shedd Schweppe. It was dedicated on June 7, 1931, in memory of Helen's first husband, Kersey Coates Reed. In a 2017 Chronicle Media feature on the library's history, the library's marketing coordinator at the time, Joy Schmoll, explained the Shedd family's Chicago connections. John G. Shedd was president of Marshall Field's, and the Shedd Aquarium carries his name. She said a bas-relief in the Rotunda carries Reed's face "as a way of honoring him for his efforts with the library. He loved books, I'm told." The archer's face is a likeness of Reed.
The murals overhead. Russian émigré Nicolai Remisoff painted The Poets and Writers of Antiquity, eight murals plus four small landscapes around the Rotunda walls. Parma Conservation cleaned and varnished them in 2024 after studying each panel with UV, infrared and X-ray imaging. They are about as close to their 1931 condition as you are likely to see them.
The sequence of rooms. In that same Chronicle Media piece, Schmoll described the design as "classical, as if you're entering a Greek temple through the foyer and the rotunda area, beneath the dome." The same article places the circulation desk in the Rotunda, directly under the dome. That desk is part of the project's marble reconstruction. If you want a clear picture of the building as it has been, walk from the front door through the Foyer and into the Rotunda before the work begins.
Clark brought a public-building résumé to the job. Library documents quoted by Chronicle Media name him as the designer of the Brookfield Zoo and the Winnetka Village Hall.
The Calendar Between Now and the Bids
On November 12, the bid deadline is eight days away. The holiday season at the library starts in the Foyer, one of the rooms in the project. Here is the order of events:
- Tuesday, November 17, 6:30 p.m. Regular Library Board meeting.
- Friday, November 20, 5:00 p.m. General contractor bids are due.
- Monday, November 30 through Wednesday, December 23. The Friends of Lake Forest Library hold their Holiday Book Bazaar in the Library Foyer during open hours.
- December 1 through 15. Reg 'n' Go Kit for Adults.
- Wednesday, December 2, 2 to 3 p.m. Increase Your iPhone & iPad Expertise.
- Friday, December 4, 10 a.m. to noon. Playtime.
- Monday, December 7. Reg 'n' Go Gingerbread House Kits for Grades K–4.
- Tuesday, December 15, 6:30 p.m. Regular Library Board meeting.
Board meetings are open to the public, and agendas and minutes are posted through the library's Board page. The Friends' next big sale after the Bazaar is the Annual Book Sale, set for September 16 through 19, 2027.
The Friends play two roles in this story. They run the Bazaar, and they are one of four named funding sources for the centennial work, along with Library reserves, the Lake Forest Library Foundation and private contributions. According to the library, each phase has involved consultation with the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation, the Friends and the Lake Forest Garden Club. Questions and offers of support go through the Executive Director's contact page.
The building turns 100 in 2031. Once the 1931 rooms are finished, the library will have restored its shell, its art, its courtyards and finally its working rooms, in that order.
Lake Forest homeowners face many of the same choices when restoring an older house: what to keep exactly as built, what to reconstruct and what to update for how they live now. If you're weighing those choices on a historic Lake Forest property, whether you plan to stay or sell, Tami Hamilton and the Edgewater Home Team would be glad to talk through which details buyers notice and which updates are worth making. Start Your Move — Schedule a Consultation.
