Chandelier Saga

For the last month or two, the Clarke has been running a fundraiser to restore our historic lighting, which consisted of bronze chandeliers​​ that were recently rediscovered after being removed about 60 years ago. The project is in the works, and thanks to friends of the Clarke, has been very successful so far. However, we're still a ways away from our goal so consider dropping by the museum or donating through our donation page here on the website or via Facebook. Every dollar helps us get closer to our goal!

What did the interior used to look like?

The Clarke is listed as on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning that it has been found to be a significant cultural or architectural landmark. The Clarke earned that designation due to its special architectural design, done by Albert Pissis, who was a San Francisco architect who helped to rebuild San Francisco after the  1906 earthquake. The exterior of the building is glazed terracotta tile, an unusual material that in Eureka appears exclusively on the Bank of Eureka building. 

Pissis designed and built the Bank of Eureka building at a time when neo-classical architecture was popular. Architects drew on design motifs from Greek and Roman architecture including columns, leaf designs, and cadeuces, and worked to emulate the detailed decor of Grecian and Roman architecture. That included marble flooring and incredibly detailed ceiling work on the interior of the building. Thanks to a building restoration expert Lisa Jarrow, we discovered that all that detailed work was once covered in gold leaf, which was a time consuming process with spectacular results.

The building was lit by a combination of lighting fixtures over its operational days as a bank, from chandeliers and wall sconces to fluorescent lighting. The 6 chandeliers were cast bronze with spherical shades, which were updated to Art Deco style shades.

When Cecile Clarke purchased the Bank of Eureka building in the 1960s, that kind of elaborate decor was out of style, so the walls were painted over and the elaborate chandeliers removed and given to Cecile's Episcopal church. From there, the chandeliers appeared at Old Town Bar and Grill, a bank at the Mall, back to Old Town Bar and Grill, and then put into storage after being damaged by bricks during an earthquake.

Why restore the interior of the building?

Being a NRHP listed location, it's part of our duty as building owners and stewards of history to maintain this building's historical integrity for the future, while also ensuring that building remains useful and relevant to our community. Restoring our lighting gets us a step closer to emulating the historic grandeur of the building, while wiring the chandeliers and overhead lighting for energy efficiency helps us serve our community by lessening our energy usage footprint. The new lighting allows for flexibility in how the space is used, by providing more light when needed and less when it isn't and the return of the chandeliers encourage visitors to look up where all the detailed design work is. With this project and our ongoing paint restoration project, we're doing our part to maintain this landmark of local and national significance. 

Where is the project at?

So far, we've been able to get the chandeliers back and take them to Santa Rosa, where missing parts are being recreated as 3D models. The models will be used in creating molds to cast the lost pieces in bronze. The 3D modeling phase is close to finishing up, and Northbay 3D and Design has been sending us updates through the process, including how long it took to do the 3D rendering on the item and how long it took to 3D print the pieces.

Original bronze piece next to the 3D printed version

Next up is to get the pieces cast in bronze and brought back to the Museum to be rewired for energy efficient  lighting.

If the project is already in process, why is money still being raised?

We have enough money to cover these initial phases of the project, but we are still raising money to cover the cost of rehanging the chandeliers and updating our lighting in the entire building to be more energy efficient. It's a longer and costly project to tackle the entire building's lighting system but one that makes the most sense to have completed in one fell swoop rather than in short phases. A major lighting projects like this requires us to close our doors for a week at a time due to the lighting fixtures being on high ceilings that can only be accessed via large scissor lifts- meaning that we have to rearrange display cases to accommodate the lifts. We typically close in January for maintenance anyway, so it makes sense to be able to use that time for a major project like this one.

Additionally, with projects like this, it's typical for estimates for work, time, and materials to be higher than anticipated. We want to be sure that the project is fully covered, no matter what the final costs turn out to be. If there is any money left over from our fundraising efforts, it will be fully invested into other ongoing infrastructure projects, such as the addition of carpet to the non-marble flooring parts of the Main Hall, new carpeting to replace the 40 year old Nealis Hall carpeting,  and restoring the interior and exterior of the Bank of Eureka building.

Thank you for your support!