{"nrhp_refnum":"87001015","name":"Memorial Branch","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4645 W. Olympic Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.056136192000054,"lon":-118.38607232999999,"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":"Memorial Branch is a branch library at 4645 W. Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles, built in 1930 to designs by architect John C. Austin. It sits in Memorial Park across from Los Angeles High School.","why_significant":"The library and park were conceived together as a memorial to Los Angeles High School alumni who died in World War I, funded by alumni donations. It is described as the best remaining example of small public buildings by John C. Austin, the city's most successful architect of the early twentieth century.","narrative":"Built in 1930 beside Los Angeles High School, this branch library occupies Memorial Park on Olympic Boulevard. Architect John C. Austin designed it as an L-plan Gothic Revival building of red, dark red and clinker brick under a steep slate roof with cast stone-capped gables. A large stained glass window in the front gable commemorates high school alumni who died in World War I, and Gothic cast stone ornamentation surrounds the entry. Inside, a central charging desk, beamed ceilings, a Gothic cast stone fireplace and a balcony with a decorative wooden railing remain. The library and park were designed together as a war memorial, and alumni donations made it possible to hire Austin, whose other works include City Hall, First Methodist Church and Griffith Park Observatory. The steep roof recalls western Europe, where many soldiers died. The nomination calls it the best surviving example of Austin's small public buildings, and the 2.5 acre boundary includes the entire park.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John C. Austin","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.036317-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/87001015.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001015/d27bac9116-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001015/d27bac9116-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memorial_Branch_Library,_Los_Angeles.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles</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:Memorial_Branch_Library,_Los_Angeles.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857552","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Branch","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6815350"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/memorial-branch-87001015/"}