{"nrhp_refnum":"81000152","name":"Hanford Carnegie Library","other_names":["Hanford Carnegie Museum, Inc."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"109 E. 8th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hanford","county":"Kings County","state":"CA","lat":36.32737517800007,"lon":-119.64507908499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, L-shaped Romanesque style public library at 109 E. Eighth Street in Hanford, Kings County, California, built in 1905 to designs by the McDougall Brothers and constructed by David Gamble.","why_significant":"It is one of the Carnegie-funded library projects built across the nation and served as Hanford's only public library from 1905 to 1971. It is also considered an excellent, nearly unaltered example of Romanesque library design, described by architectural authors as the most sophisticated Carnegie library in the state. It anchors a downtown rich in historic buildings.","narrative":"Built in 1905 at 109 E. Eighth Street in Hanford, this two-story, L-shaped library was funded through Andrew Carnegie's nationwide program of library grants, with an allotment of $12,500 for construction. Fresno architects Benjamin and George McDougall designed it in the Romanesque style, and David Gamble built it. A square tower sits in the inner corner of the L and holds the main entry. Concrete block walls, arched windows with cast-concrete moldings, and a steep pressed-metal roof shaped like clay tile define the exterior, which has changed very little. Inside, the vaulted main hall, wooden beams, staircase, moldings and some original light fixtures remain. The building served as Hanford's only public library for 66 years, until 1971, when plans to demolish it were dropped and it became a museum. It was recognized for its social role and for its architecture, which a published architectural guide called the most sophisticated Carnegie library in California.","period_of_significance":"1905","architect_builder":"McDougall Brothers (Benjamin G. and George B.), architects; David Gamble, builder","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Now used as a museum, after its threatened demolition was averted in 1971; the form lists the condition as good and the property as occupied and publicly owned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.627989-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/81000152.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000152/a13fa486f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000152/a13fa486f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Armona at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_090907_2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Armona at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Carnegie_090907_2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858879","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Carnegie_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5647788"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/kings-county/hanford-carnegie-library-81000152/"}