{"nrhp_refnum":"87001021","name":"Stevenson, Robert Louis, Branch","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"803 Spence St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.02772036500005,"lon":-118.19823065699995,"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 brick branch library at 803 Spence Street in Los Angeles, built in 1927 to designs by architect George L. Lindsay, as part of the city's branch library system.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a Mediterranean-inspired library combining Spanish Colonial Revival style with Classical details. Its red brick walls and red tile roof contrast with the surrounding wood-frame stucco houses, marking it as an institutional building in a residential neighborhood. The Spanish style is described as common throughout east Los Angeles.","narrative":"Robert Louis Stevenson Branch Library, at 803 Spence Street in Los Angeles, was built in 1927 and designed by George L. Lindsay. It is a one-story, L-shaped brick building with a tiled gable roof, set along the rear edge of a corner residential lot. The style is Mediterranean-inspired, blending Spanish Colonial Revival features with Classical details. The entrance, framed by cast stone quoins, sits where the two wings meet and is angled to the streets, reached by a diagonal walk across the lawn to paired paneled doors. Arched multi-pane casement windows flank the door, and the gable ends have large picture windows and gable returns. Inside are a central charging desk and a fireplace in the children's room. The red brick and red tile contrast strongly with the surrounding stucco houses, which sets the library apart as a public building in a residential neighborhood. The Spanish style is common across east Los Angeles. The property was listed as part of a group of the city's branch libraries.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George L. Lindsay","architectural_style":"Mediterranean inspired, combining Spanish Colonial Revival style with Classical details","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 02:54:27.439074-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/87001021.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001021/c265fcd739-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001021/c265fcd739-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Louis_Stevenson_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:Robert_Louis_Stevenson_Branch_Library,_Los_Angeles.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857604","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson_Branch_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7347002"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/stevenson-robert-louis-branch-87001021/"}