{"nrhp_refnum":"79000511","name":"Carnegie Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"241 S. Anaheim Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Anaheim","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.83337518600007,"lon":-117.91344812699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-10-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick and gunite public library building at 241 S. Anaheim Blvd. in Anaheim, Orange County, California, built in 1908 with a Carnegie grant and designed by John C. Austin of Los Angeles. A semi-circular rear addition followed in 1910.","why_significant":"It is the only surviving Carnegie Library in Orange County and one of few historic structures left in Anaheim's old commercial core. It is also the only Anaheim building by Los Angeles architect John C. Austin, and its neo-classical design combines gunite and glazed brick in a way unique to the city. It served Anaheim as its public library for fifty-five years.","narrative":"Built in 1908 at 241 S. Anaheim Boulevard, this brick and gunite building served as Anaheim's public library for fifty-five years. Funding came from a $10,000 Andrew Carnegie grant, supported by residents who raised money to buy the site. Architect John Austin of Los Angeles gave it a neo-classical facade with Corinthian columns and a raised entrance, a response to the town's early flooding problems. A semi-circular rear addition followed in 1910. Early holdings included many German-language books, reflecting the community's heritage. It is the only Carnegie library still standing in Orange County, and one of few historic structures surviving in Anaheim's redeveloped downtown core. The exterior is largely unchanged, though some ornament has been removed and fire exits added. The interior kept its original paneling and woodwork, now painted. After the library closed in 1964, the building housed a senior center and then the city Personnel Department, with a museum proposed as a future use.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"John Austin, Los Angeles (Austin, Field and Fry)","architectural_style":"Neo-classical (reviewers noted elements of Second Renaissance Revival and Mission style)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the city and maintained by it; used by the city Personnel Department, with a museum use proposed after the department moves. Condition listed as excellent to good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.995923-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000511.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000511/079f094e1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000511/079f094e1c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anaheim_Public_Library_(Carnegie_Library).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbl62</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anaheim_Public_Library_(Carnegie_Library).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860177","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Library_(Anaheim,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5043915"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/carnegie-library-79000511/"}