Photo for the Mirror by JD Cavrich / Judge Jolene Grubb Kopriva speaks during the dedication of the Blair County Courthouse’s lobby named in her honor.

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The restored lobby on the second floor of the Blair County Courthouse was dedicated Monday in honor of Senior Judge Jolene G. Kopriva.

With county leaders, court staff, friends and family lining the four walls of the lobby in the 1906 section of the courthouse, the judge who retired at the end of 2017 after 30 years’ service described the recognition as humbling.

“It’s an appropriate acknowledgment of your service,” said Commissioner Terry Tomassetti, who referenced a new plaque in the room to be known as the Judge Jolene Grubb Kopriva Lobby.

The room is located between and has access to both courtrooms on the second floor in the older portion of the courthouse. It is immediately outside Courtroom 1, formerly known as Courtroom 2, where renovations and restoration work were recently completed, making that room available for Monday’s swearing-in ceremony of county leaders.

Kopriva recalled Monday that she became familiar with the courthouse’s lawyers lobby in 1974 when she was a law school student. It was “the gathering spot” for attorneys and witnesses, she said.

Plans for renovating the lawyers lobby began moving forward in 2017 after longtime water leaks were addressed. Once the path of those leaks was under control, damaged interior plaster started drying, then cracking, crumbling and in some places, falling. In the lawyers lobby, plywood boxes were created to temporarily catch the falling plaster.

Efforts to address the damaged plaster were followed by painting and stenciling based on the room’s original finish. Colors and design, including a decorative scale of justice on each wall, were identified through paint removal and the moving of furniture.

The restoration project also included utility upgrades and installation of a chandelier replicating the style which would have been used in 1906.

Kopriva also thanked and recognized Tomassetti for his leadership on the project, along with Chief Clerk Helen Schmitt, Director of Public Works Rocky Greenland, architect David Albright and local conservators John Rita and Chris Cook.

“I can assure you that this room has never looked so good,” the senior judge said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.