Georgetown Library Closed for 3 Weeks Because of Burst Pipe

This time, it’s ice, not fire. Friday the 13th proved unlucky for Georgetown Public Library, the site of a devastating building fire in April 2007.

Because of the cold, on Feb. 13 a sprinkler pipe burst on the top floor of the Georgetown Neighborhood Library on 3260 R St. NW. Water damaged the Peabody Room with its historic collection of Georgetown artifacts on the third floor and poured down the walls to the second and the first floors of the library.

“When the sprinkler pipe ruptured, the fire alarm went off immediately and the building was evacuated,” said library spokesman George Williams. “The water did not seep through to the lower floors until several minutes after the evacuation.”

At this time, there appears to be minimal damage to the Peabody Room and its collection, he added.

“While the library makes repairs to the building and takes steps to reduce the risk of mold, the building will be closed,” Williams said. “We expect the closure to last approximately three weeks. During this time, patron-placed holds will be available for pick up at the Palisades Library. In addition, books can continue to be returned at the Georgetown Library book drop.”

The Peabody Room was closed that Friday, and the library staff had not idea that water was leaking until it hit the ceiling of the second floor and the stairwell, according to Jerry McCoy, special collections librarian and head of the Peabody Room.

“By time I got to the library there was three-quarters of an inch of water in 90 percent of the reading room,” McCoy wrote to a colleague. “Water had started to seep under the walls into the west archives storage room.  Several boxes of collections siting on the floor absorbed water. The good thing is that none of the artwork hanging on the walls was damaged.”

McCoy added that, coincidentally, Feb. 18 is the 220th birthday of banker and philanthropist George Peabody (1795-1869), namesake of Georgetown’s unique room of history and its archives of books, photographs, maps and manuscripts, some of which date back to the 18th Century. The collection was established in 1935.

According to the D.C. Public Library, “the few items in the Peabody Room that were damaged have been moved to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library to be treated by library staff. All damaged items from the Peabody Collection will be recovered and eventually returned to the Georgetown Library.”