{"nrhp_refnum":"97001635","name":"Robles, Paso, Carnegie Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"City Park, 800 12th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Paso Robles","county":"San Luis Obispo County","state":"CA","lat":35.62595199700007,"lon":-120.68980890199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-01-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick and stone Classical Revival Carnegie library building at 800 12th Street in the center of City Park, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, California. It was designed by architect William H. Weeks, built by R.O. Summers, and dedicated in 1908.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A in Social History as a local example of community effort to meet social and cultural needs using Carnegie funding. It was the city's first permanent library building and a center of social and cultural activity in a young community. It meets the registration requirements of the California Carnegie Libraries multiple property listing.","narrative":"Set in the middle of City Park in Paso Robles, this single-story Carnegie library was dedicated on June 19, 1908. Architect William H. Weeks designed it and R.O. Summers built it, using locally fired brick with stone quoins, lintels and sills. A pedimented portico with paired columns marks the Classical Revival entrance, and the interior retains tiled floors, varnished wood paneling and a brick fireplace. The library grew from a free reading room started in 1901 by the Paso Robles Improvement Club and later taken up by its ladies' auxiliary and the city. Carnegie funds of $10,000 were offered in 1906. It served as the city's first permanent library and a social and cultural center until a new library opened in 1995. The city then passed stewardship to the El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society, which intends to preserve the building as a historical library and repository of local historic items.","period_of_significance":"1908-1947","architect_builder":"Weeks, W.H. Architect; Summers, R.O., Builder","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"A new Paso Robles library was dedicated in 1995; the city turned stewardship of the Carnegie building over to the El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society, which planned to preserve it as a historical library and repository of local historic items.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:26.871166-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/97001635.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001635/a8467e880d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001635/a8467e880d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Ken Figlioli","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Library,_Paso_Robles.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ken Figlioli</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carnegie_Library,_Paso_Robles.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857784","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paso_Robles_Carnegie_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12065378"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-luis-obispo-county/robles-paso-carnegie-library-97001635/"}