National Register of Historic Places in Alameda County
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29 August 2012
(Click Photo to Zoom)
Golden Gate Branch of the Oakland Free Library
5606 San Pablo Avenue
Oakland
Built 1918
The Golden Gate Branch was one of four Carnegie Free Libraries designed in 1914 by Oakland architects of statewide prominence. This branch was built in 1918 and has served continuously as an Oakland Public Library branch from its construction to the present.
Oakland pioneered branch libraries in California, opening branch reading rooms as early as 1878 and continuing to emphasize neighborhood branches as the city expanded.
The Golden Gate and Alden branches in North Oakland were established in 1899 as promised to those neighborhoods during the annexation campaign of 1897.
Excerpted from the NRHP nomination.
The Alden, Golden Gate and 23rd Avenue branches were all designed by Charles W. Dickey and John J. Donovan. The three buildings had virtually identical plans but different period costumes. The Golden Gate branch was the only Carnegie Library in the Georgian Revival style.
Escalating construction costs for the elaborate Spanish Colonial 23rd Avenue branch diverted funds from the Alden and Golden Gate branches, not yet begun. The relatively austere Tudor and Colonial styles chosen for Alden and Golden Gate apparently absorbed any economy measures with good grace.
Both the Alden and Golden Gate branches are virtually unchanged both inside and out and have continuously operated as libraries since their construction.
Excerpted from the NRHP nomination.
Chinatown, Golden Gate Valley, Mission, Noe Valley, Presidio, Richmond, Sunset
Carnegie Free Libraries in Oakland
23rd Avenue, Alden,
Golden Gate, Melrose
Some Other Carnegie Free Libraries in California
Alameda, Bayliss,
Biggs, Colusa,
Corning, Eureka,
Ferndale, Gilroy,
Grass Valley, Gridley,
Hanford, Healdsburg,
Hollister, Lincoln.
Livermore, Lompoc,
Nevada City, Orland,
Oroville, Oxnard,
Paso Robles, Patterson,
Petaluma, Riverbank,
Roseville, Sacramento,
San Luis Obispo
Santa Cruz, Sonoma,
South San Francisco,
St. Helena, Turlock,
Willits, Willows,
Woodland, Yolo,
Yreka
Some Other Carnegie Free Libraries in the West
Beaver, Utah; Coos Bay, Oregon;
Medford, Oregon; Panguitch, Utah
For more information about these and other Carnegie Free Libraries, visit the website Carnegie Libraries of California.