The Monterey County Historical Society is unveiling its reading room, years in the making.

Imagine a library where one could hole up for hours, reading historical documents in a room decorated to both look and feel like it’s straight out of the late 19th century. That room now exists at the Monterey County Historical Society in Salinas. The public will have their first chance to see it on May 18 in a daylong event when the nonprofit is celebrating several milestones.

The reading room, which has been named the Victorian Gumper-Castro Memorial Library, has been in the works for years – a painstaking process that involved taking every historical detail into account. From the wallpaper to the wainscoting and decorative panels, it fulfills Executive Director James Perry’s dream of creating a room “where time stops.”

Much of the material came from the former home of Jesse Carr, one of the founding fathers of Salinas. Perry says he had “one of Salinas’ finest mansions.” But the home was demolished in 1965, and until 2015, historic materials from Carr’s house recovered in that demolition were stored at Salinas Valley Wax Paper Co. Perry rescued them, with the idea of bringing them back to life.

It’s also more than a reading room. It’s a second vault, essentially, all humidity controlled with dry fire suppression systems, just like the locked vault it’s adjacent to which houses all of the county’s historical documents.

Suffice to say, Perry is pleased with how it all turned out. “What we’ve created is nothing short of a truly spectacular interior space,” he says. “I look at this as one of my professional career highlights… It was such a labor of love.”

And it is indeed spectacular – light spills into the room through painted glass and stained glass, and its furnishings date back more than a century.

What stands out the most is the attention to detail. The wallpaper was made by Bradbury and Bradbury, a Benicia-based company that specializes in historic wallpaper. There’s also stained glass dating back to 1905 recovered from Salinas’ old Grand Saloon at 216 Main St.

While the room will ultimately be open to the public, it will be by appointment only Monday through Friday in the 10am-noon and 1-3pm windows. It won’t be a lending library, but rather a place to sit and read historical documents and books.

MONTEREY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY’s celebration takes place from 10am-3pm Saturday, May 18 (library dedication takes place at 1pm). 333 Boronda Road, Salinas. Free. 757-8085, mchsmuseum.com