{"nrhp_refnum":"76000513","name":"A. K. Smiley Public Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"125 W. Vine St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Redlands","county":"San Bernardino County","state":"CA","lat":34.05415878900004,"lon":-117.18398723599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A public library building at 125 West Vine Street in Redlands, San Bernardino County, California, designed in 1898 by architect T.R. Griffith and built by Davis M. Donald. It is owned by the City of Redlands and sits in Smiley Park.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the library is significant as a gift from philanthropist Albert K. Smiley to Redlands and as a distinctive eclectic design blending Moorish, Mission, Mediterranean and Romanesque motifs. It also stresses its educational role and its archives on California and Redlands history, which have drawn authors and researchers.","narrative":"A brick library with a tile roof and a long arcade, the A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands was designed in 1898 by architect T.R. Griffith and built by the Redlands firm of Davis M. Donald. Work began in August 1897. Albert K. Smiley, a philanthropist with ties to education and Indian affairs policy, gave it to the city along with an adjoining park. The building is cross-shaped, with oak interiors, hand-carved gargoyles, a stone griffin over the main entrance and original stained-glass rose windows. Wings were added in 1907, 1920, 1926 and 1930, and the tower was cut back in 1936. Its style has been called Moorish and Mission, but the nomination describes it as an eclectic mix of Islamic, Mediterranean, Romanesque and Gothic-inspired motifs. It was listed for its architecture, its education role and its archives of California and Redlands history. It remains an operating public library owned by the city.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Davis Donald/T.R. Griffith","architectural_style":"Moorish/Mission eclectic, combining mainly Islamic and Mediterranean motifs","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied and in good condition, in public ownership and use as a functioning public library with an archives collection.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.883577-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/76000513.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000513/9cf831856d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000513/9cf831856d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Phil Scoville from Provo, UT, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A.K._Smiley_Public_Library.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Phil Scoville from Provo, UT, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A.K._Smiley_Public_Library.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860716","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._K._Smiley_Public_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14681529"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-bernardino-county/a-k-smiley-public-library-76000513/"}