When: Saturday, October 11, 2008 Tickets: $45 for both Society members and the public Departs: Elk Grove Heritage Park at 8:30 am by bus Return: 5:00 PM The Elk Grove Historical Society will be hosting a bus trip to Grass Valley to see the gas light Chandelier making factory of artist Paul Ivazes on Saturday, October 11. Mr. Ivazes has restored gas light fixtures for many private homes and public buildings across the United States, including the Stanford Mansion in Sacramento. Ticket holders will meet at the parking lot of the Elk Grove Heritage Park at 8:30 am to board the bus and will return by 5 PM. In addition to the gas light factory, the day will include shopping and a no-host lunch in historic Grass Valley. Tickets for this tour are $45 for both Society members and the public. Contact: Lorraine Croup 916-683-6893 Quality Lighting is a family owned and operated business located in the heart of California’s gold country, in the town of Grass Valley. For over 28 years, they have brought new life to historic antique lighting fixtures. With great attention to detail, even a lamp left on the scrap pile can once again see the light. Their Mission To share and educate the unwritten history of lighting with our clients through efforts of design and creation, bringing together the ultimate lighting experience. About the Artist Paul Ivazes "For 2 years, Paul Ivazes of Quality Lighting worked on the historic lighting restoration and reproductions for the rehabilitation of the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park, a stunning 19,186 square-foot Sacramento landmark and major public-private partnership between the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation that opened in September 2005. The Stanford Mansion is also the official International Protocol Center for the Governor and Legislature hosting visiting presidents, prime ministers and ambassadors. Most of the mansion was painstakingly restored to its 1872 Victorian opulence, many rooms containing their original lighting fixtures, and Mr. Ivazes was responsible for working miracles. He has a wealth of knowledge to share as well as a deep commitment to preservation and historical accuracy. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. … John Mello, former Museum Curator I, Leland Stanford Mansion, currently Museum Curator II, California State Capitol Museum. (From Client Testimonials on their web site at: http://www.qualitylighting.net) Past lighting projects: Ohio State Capitol, Georgia State Capitol, Rhode Island State Capitol, Robert E. Lee home, Leland Stanford Mansion, Walt Whitman home, Cameron Stanford House, Contemporary Jewish Museum SF, McHenry Mansion, CA State Capitol Governors office, St Joseph Basilica, Brethart Hotel, Holbrook Hotel, Oak Street Theatre, Alabama State Capitol, Ca Railroad Museum, and hundreds of homes. Past consultation jobs: Abraham Lincoln cottage Wash DC, Philadelphia Academy of Music, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of NYC, SF Mint, Michigan State Capitol, NYC Civic Center, Smithsonian Institution, Heilbron Mansion, CA Governors Mansion, CA State Capitol and hundreds of others. Historic Grass Valley Prospectors from Oregon in search of gold and emigrants from the east looking for fertile homeland settled in Grass Valley between 1848 and 1849. As with all the mining camps and towns, along what would become Highway 49, gold fever created an instantaneous population explosion. Though early miners sought their riches in the streams, it was only by accident that the true wealth of Grass Valley was discovered. Legend has it a miner in search of his missing cow stubbed his toe and dislodged a large rock which when he picked it up gleamed with gold. Not too much later another man searching for stones to construct a chimney discovered a rich vein of gold quartz. The rest, as they say, is history. By 1855 the town was prospering and growing when it suffered two significant setbacks. A fire that swept through the town destroyed 300 buildings. Rebuilt, the town faced a worse disaster, the ease of accessing the gold had become more and more difficult. Tenacity and improved techniques in hard rock mining allowed Grass Valley to once again prosper by the 1860s. $150,000,000 in gold was mined from two mines, the Empire mine, and the North Star Mine in their 100 years of service. Nevada County in total produced an unbelievable $440,000,000 in gold during that same time period. Both mines closed in 1956 and are now a park and a museum open to the public. Grass Valley was one of the fortunate cities who's economy based on its mining efforts was able to prosper even through the Great Depression. Grass Valley today still proudly displays its early architecture and history as a living museum that coexists with a thriving, modern business center, that has maintained its cultural identity and remained a strong family oriented city.

5-arm Cornelius; Baker 1850