{"nrhp_refnum":"90001811","name":"Exeter Public Library","other_names":["Carnegie Community Center","Carnegie Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"309 S. E St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Exeter","county":"Tulare County","state":"CA","lat":36.29342619000005,"lon":-119.13911381999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-12-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Mission Revival-style Carnegie library building at 309 South E St. in Exeter, Tulare County, California, built in 1916 and now used as the Carnegie Community Center. It sits at one end of a city park.","why_significant":"It is one of only two remaining Carnegie libraries in Tulare County, where six were built between 1904 and 1921. It reflects the Exeter Women's Club's push for library service and the Carnegie grant process, and it keeps the design and workmanship of its 1916 construction. It combines Mission Revival style with classical detailing.","narrative":"Built in 1916 at 309 South E Street in Exeter, this one-story stucco building on a brick foundation was the town's Carnegie-funded public library. Designed from plans by A. Merrill Bowser, it combines Mission Revival style with classical touches, including a projecting central entrance, angled parapets, wide eaves with shaped rafters, and Union Jack motifs in its windows and vents. A $5,000 Carnegie grant paid for it after the Exeter Women's Club, which had landscaped the park site and helped bring library service to town, supported the effort. It is one of only two Carnegie libraries still standing in Tulare County, which had six. The library served until 1975, when a new county library was built beside it in the park. After a 1976 renovation that added wheelchair access, it became the Carnegie Community Center, hosting club meetings and a daily senior meal program. The exterior remains essentially unchanged and in very good condition.","period_of_significance":"1916-1921","architect_builder":"Bowser, A. Merrill","architectural_style":"Mission/Spanish Colonial revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Very good condition and well maintained; used as a community meeting hall and daily senior meal site since renovation in 1976.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.255715-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/90001811.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001811/5341a1be43-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001811/5341a1be43-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bobak Ha'Eri","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0725-CA-ExeterPublicLibrary.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobak Ha'Eri</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0725-CA-ExeterPublicLibrary.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"16000468","name":"Big Creek Hydroelectric System Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/big-creek-hydroelectric-system-historic-district-16000468/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857848","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Public_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14681962"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/tulare-county/exeter-public-library-90001811/"}