{"nrhp_refnum":"92000269","name":"Hollister Carnegie Library","other_names":["Hollister City Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"375 Fifth St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hollister","county":"San Benito County","state":"CA","lat":36.85111570600003,"lon":-121.40326086299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-03-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Classical Revival library building at 375 Fifth Street, Hollister, San Benito County, California, built 1911-1912 of reinforced concrete and now used as city hall. It was designed by William Binder and built by E. J. Sparling.","why_significant":"It is a Carnegie-funded library, built with a $10,000 grant, and one of the California Carnegie libraries. It is notable for its restrained Classical Revival design and its reinforced concrete construction, a sensible choice on a major earthquake fault. From opening it served the whole county, since the county supervisors required that all county residents be allowed to use it.","narrative":"Built in 1911-1912 at 375 Fifth Street, this Hollister library is a one-story Classical Revival building of reinforced concrete scored to resemble granite blocks. A slightly raised basement gives it a podium effect, and the recessed central entrance is flanked by fluted Ionic columns. Architect William Binder of San Jose, who had designed the Carnegie Library in San Jose, worked with local contractor E. J. Sparling. The town received a $10,000 Carnegie grant in 1910 to replace an earlier reading room on the same site. The library served residents of the entire county from its opening, after the county supervisors tied operating funds to open access. Its concrete construction suited a town on a major earthquake fault, and its restrained classical design fit a modest mid-block lot. A 1986 rear addition for city council chambers is barely visible from the street. The building now serves as city hall and keeps much of its original character.","period_of_significance":"1912-1941","architect_builder":"Binder, William (architect); Sparling, E. J. (builder)","architectural_style":"Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used as Hollister City Hall; a 1986 rear addition houses council chambers and the interior has been modernized, though integrity is described as high.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.234744-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/92000269.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000269/1af8690738-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000269/1af8690738-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"BrendelSignature","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hollistor_City_Hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">BrendelSignature</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Hollistor_City_Hall.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"92000974","name":"Downtown Hollister Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/downtown-hollister-historic-district-92000974/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857736","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollister_Carnegie_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5881636"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-benito-county/hollister-carnegie-library-92000269/"}