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Oakland Carnegie Libraries: Main Library, 1902-1950

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In Folder: Oakland History Center

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Oakland Carnegie Libraries: Main Library, 1902-1950

Oakland's Main Library was at the corner of 14th and Grove Streets (now 14th and Martin Luther King Jr. Way) from 1902-1950. It housed the city's largest circulating collection and special collections like sheet music and volumes of local history collected in the California Room. The building also served as headquarters for management of branch libraries throughout the city and (briefly) throughout Alameda County. This building served as the city's Main Library until a new Main opened at 125 14th Street in 1951. From 1951-1971 it served as the Charles S. Greene Branch, and was then converted into administrative offices. The building closed after damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. It was retrofitted to preserve its original style, and was reopened as the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) in 2002. The American Beaux-Arts style building was designed by architects Bliss and Faville, with interior murals by artists Marion Holden-Pope and Arthur Mathews. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. In the early 20th Century Andrew Carnegie donated funds for the construction of 1,681 library buildings throughout the United States. The Main Library was one of five "Carnegie Libraries" constructed in the Oakland Public Library system. In 1900, Carnegie gave $50,000 to fund construction of a new Main Library, which opened at 659 14th Street in 1902. In 1916, Carnegie gave an additional $140,000 to fund new buildings for four branch libraries in Oakland: Melrose, 23rd Avenue, Golden Gate, and Alden (renamed Temescal in the 1940s). The Melrose Branch opened at 4805 Foothill Boulevard in 1916. The three other branches opened in 1918: Golden Gate at 5606 San Pablo Avenue, Alden/Temescal at 5205 Telegraph Avenue, and 23rd Avenue at 1449 Miller Avenue. The Golden Gate, Melrose, and Temescal Branch Libraries have been continually in use as branch libraries since they opened. The 23rd Avenue Branch was used as branch library until 1976. It was destroyed by a fire and razed in 2018.

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Title

Description

Date ▲ ▼

Intersection of Grove & 14th Streets looking West on 14th Street. Advertising signs surround the lot where the new Main Library would soon be built.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Grading at site of Main Library, 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Color postcard showing the Oakland Main Library, 14th & Grove Streets, labeled “201 – Public Library, Oakland, Cal”

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Main Library from the corner of 14th and Grove. Damage from the earthquake of April 1906 is visible above the cornice.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

South side of 14th Street between Grove and Castro showing the Oakland Main Library and First Unitarian Church.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library under construction at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Delivery drivers with delivery bags and trailer outside of Oakland’s Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Child sitting on the stairs outside of Oakland’s Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Children Barbara Ruth, Lorraine, and Florence James Tayler in costumes outside Oakland’s Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Group of children outside Oakland’s Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Librarian Elsie Schaufler outside Oakland’s Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets. Schaufler started working at Oakland Public Library around 1910, and headed the ordering department from 1928 until her retirement in 1957.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Children Barbara Ruth, Lorraine, Esther Spewey, and Betty Stephens in costumes outside Oakland’s Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

Exterior view of the Oakland Main Library at 14th & Grove Streets. A bicycle and buggy are parked in front of the building and the street is unpaved.

7/9/24, 9:25 PM

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