{"nrhp_refnum":"87001006","name":"Cahuenga Branch","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4591 W. Santa Monica Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.09119163500003,"lon":-118.28887412899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Italian Renaissance branch library at 4591 W. Santa Monica Boulevard in the East Hollywood area of Los Angeles, built in 1916 and designed by architect C. H. Russell.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the library is significant for its role in the East Hollywood community and as an outstanding example of public architecture. It was the last and smallest of six Los Angeles branch libraries funded by a $200,000 Andrew Carnegie grant. It is one of only three of those six that remain.","narrative":"Cahuenga Branch Library is a one-story Italian Renaissance building at 4591 W. Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood, Los Angeles. Completed in 1916 to designs by Clarence H. Russell, it has a high basement, a low hipped clay tile roof, and walls faced in tawny tapestry brick. A double stairway with volutes rises to a veranda with a classical balustrade, and the interior follows a butterfly plan with separate reading rooms for adults and children. It was the last and smallest of six Los Angeles branch libraries built with a $200,000 Carnegie grant, and it is one of only three that survive, along with Vermont Square and Lincoln Heights. Conceived as a community center as well as a library, it included a below-street-level auditorium that hosted Red Cross and food conservation activities during World War I and rehearsals and recitals in the 1920s. The library has served a changing, ethnically diverse neighborhood, and its formal design is uncommon among branch libraries.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"C. H. Russell (Clarence H. Russell)","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as a well-maintained landscape setting; the library still offers services including outreach programs and multilingual staff.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:26.916305-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/87001006.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001006/4baa509c42-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001006/4baa509c42-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mfield, Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cahuenga_branch_los_angeles_public_library.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mfield, Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com</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:Cahuenga_branch_los_angeles_public_library.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857414","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahuenga_Branch_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14681670"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/cahuenga-branch-87001006/"}