As seismic renovation continues this spring at the Salem Public Library, a smaller renovation project is happening downtown. Miniaturist Peggy Zorn is refreshing the 40-year-old Library dollhouse for new generations of children to enjoy. 

The dollhouse has experienced a lot of wear and tear over years. This project will give it new life.

“It is a place where you can use everything,” says Zorn about working with miniatures. “You don’t have to just be a quilter. You don’t have to just be a knitter. I consider myself a jack of all trades, master of none.”

An Aurelia Edwards Youth Grant from the Salem Library Foundation is paying for the work. 

Peggy is now working on rewiring. When finished, the dollhouse will have a repaired and repainted exterior, new landscaping, refreshed interior surfaces, and new furnishings. A new cabinet will protect the dollhouse.

Over the past 40 years, Library staff have decorated the house for holidays and created scavenger hunts in miniature, to help draw the attention of visiting children. 

The Library Foundation donated the dollhouse in the early 1980s. It was built by miniaturist Clell Boyce.