{"nrhp_refnum":"90001815","name":"Ferndale Public Library","other_names":["Carnegie Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"807 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ferndale","county":"Humboldt County","state":"CA","lat":40.579613348000066,"lon":-124.261139362,"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 small one-story concrete Carnegie-funded public library at 807 Main Street in Ferndale, Humboldt County, California, built in 1910 to plans by Warren Skellings and extended to the rear in 1977.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant for architecture and social history. It is a rare example of Classical Revival design in a town known for Victorian buildings, and one of a small number of Carnegie libraries built in California communities of fewer than one thousand people. It remains the most impressive public building in Ferndale.","narrative":"Ferndale's Carnegie library is a small, nearly cubical one-story concrete building on a raised, landscaped corner lot at 807 Main Street. Designed by Warren Skellings and built by Ackerman and Ackerman of Eureka, it opened in April 1910 after a $8,000 Carnegie grant offered in 1908. Its Classical Revival design features a slightly projecting central entrance, pilasters, dentils, keystone window trim and a low parapet. In 1977 the building was extended about twenty feet to the rear, adding a children's room and a two-story workroom wing, and a low gable roof was added within the parapet. The addition was carefully matched to the original. The library matters as a rare classical building in a town known for Victorian architecture, and as evidence of how a community of fewer than one thousand residents secured its own Carnegie library through local fundraising and civic support. It remains in library use today.","period_of_significance":"1909-1921","architect_builder":"Skellings, Warren","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a library; extended in 1977 with a rear addition that matched the original design.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.540027-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/90001815.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001815/498a13c342-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001815/498a13c342-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Ellin Beltz","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferndale_CA_Public_Library.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ellin Beltz</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferndale_CA_Public_Library.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857374","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferndale_Public_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5445065"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/humboldt-county/ferndale-public-library-90001815/"}