Cahuenga Branch - Los Angeles, CA - Carnegie Library Buildings on Waymarking.com

Located on Santa Monica Boulevard in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, it was built in 1916 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie. One of three surviving Carnegie libraries in Los Angeles, it has been designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Caheunga Branch was the last of six branch libraries built with a $210,000 grant from steel baron Andrew Carnegie.[3] The architect was Clarence H. Russell (1874-1942), who was also associated with Norman F. Marsh in building the Venice canals.[4] Though the building and equipment were paid for through the Carnegie grant, the land itself was purchased by the city with the cost being paid through an assessment district.[5] The library was originally planned for the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, but the land at Santa Monica and Madison was chosen "because it was less expensive."[4]

Constructed of brick and concrete at a cost of $34,000, the library was built in a clover leaf or butterfly pattern "whereby the entire floor may be supervised from a centrally located delivery desk."[3][6] The first floor included a children's department, overflow reading room, fiction section, reference room and adult reading room. The basement contained an auditorium with a seating capacity of 300 persons.[3] The branch also included an "open air reading room" at the northwest corner on the Madison Avenue side.[7] The building's exterior also presents an impressive facade. The building is designed in the Italian Renaissance style with a high basement, a low-pitched overhanging hip roof of clay tiles, and a tawny-colored tapestry brick facing. "The front elevation is symmetrical, and is dominated by a large, formal entranceway featuring a double stairway with matching volutes leading up from the sidewalk to the portal where it forms a veranda with classical balustrade."[6]

The city's Handbook of the Branch Libraries described the Cahuenga Branch as follows: "It is a substantial and dignified Italian faced building faced with brick laid in pattern and panels, with a grand exterior central stairway leading upward to the main entrance and down to the basement club room and auditorium." Wikipedia

Address of Library Building: 4591 W. Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA USA 90028 Current Use of Building: Library Year Built (optional): 1916 Website about building: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To log a waymark in this category:

1. Please provide at least one photograph of the building. Additional photographs are encouraged.

2. Describe your experience.

No additional visit instructions will be added for individual waymarks. Additional instructions will result in waymark being declined.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/01/2008 saopaulo1 visited it

View all visits/logs