Oakland Public Library
Also known as: Charles S. Green Library Building; Oakland Carnegie Free Libr
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Why it's listed
Located at 14th and Grove Streets in downtown Oakland, this two-story library was financed by a $50,000 gift from Andrew Carnegie in 1899, after the Ebell Society raised $20,000 to buy the site. The San Francisco firm of Bliss and Faville won the design competition. The building has tan face brick and terra cotta facades, round and segmentally arched windows, and incised names of writers and disciplines. Inside are an oak-paneled stairhall and a coffered barrel-vaulted upper room. Librarian Charles S. Greene insisted on good art, and the interior holds murals by Marion Holden on the staircase and by Arthur Mathews in the delivery room. The library suffered about $5,000 in damage in the 1906 earthquake and was repaired, with a new steel book stack added by 1909. It served as the main library until 1951 and as a branch until 1971. It now houses city offices and sits within a planned three-block preservation district that includes the Pardee Mansion and First Unitarian Church.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it a distinguished work of American Beaux-Arts architecture whose free use of classical forms achieved a richness later lost in more academic designs. It retains major interior murals by Marion Holden and Arthur Mathews. It served as Oakland's main library from 1902 to 1951 and as a branch until 1971.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83001173, listed August 11, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 659 14th St., Oakland |
|---|---|
| County | Alameda County |
| Listed | August 11, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83001173 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architect / builder | Bliss and Faville |
| Architectural style | American Beaux-Arts |
| Areas of significance | Art, Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and used as miscellaneous City of Oakland government offices; interior subdivided by temporary partitions in 1972. Library use ended in 1971 (newspaper room until 1973). |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 37.80608, -122.27611 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83001173.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4689671
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.