{"nrhp_refnum":"96000106","name":"Oakland Free Library-23rd Avenue Branch","other_names":["Miller Avenue Library","Ina Coolbrith Branch","Latin American Li"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1449 Miller Ave., 2347 E. 15th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oakland","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.78346421500004,"lon":-122.23430895299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story-and-basement Spanish Colonial Revival branch library at 1449 Miller Avenue and 2347 East 15th Street in Oakland, California, built in 1917-1918 with Carnegie grant funds.","why_significant":"It was one of four branch libraries built under a 1914 Carnegie grant to Oakland, and it is the most elaborate of the three designed by Dickey and Donovan. It reflects the growth of neighborhood branch libraries and the Americanization role libraries played for a foreign-born, industrial neighborhood. It also keeps much of its original interior and exterior character.","narrative":"This branch library at Miller Avenue and East 15th Street in Oakland was built in 1917-1918 as one of four neighborhood libraries funded by a $140,000 Carnegie grant obtained in 1914. Architects John J. Donovan and Charles W. Dickey designed it in Spanish Colonial Revival style, with stucco over brick walls, a red clay tile roof, a wooden balcony and carved woodwork. Inside, a split-level entry leads to two reading rooms flanking a central desk, and much of the original oak shelving, plaster and woodwork remains. The library grew from a reading room opened in 1890 and served an industrial, immigrant neighborhood, where it supported the era's Americanization efforts. It later became the Ina Coolbrith Branch and then the Latin American Branch, and it ceased operating as a library in the 1970s. It has since served school and city offices and now hosts social services and job training. It is also an Oakland City Landmark, designated in 1980.","period_of_significance":"1918-1946","architect_builder":"Donovan, John J. (architect); Dickey, Charles W. (associate architect); Nielsen & Bertelsen (builder)","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Now used as a job training center and meeting space for a social service organization; condition described as good to fair with good integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.562551-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/96000106.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857338","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/oakland-free-library-23rd-avenue-branch-96000106/"}