Carnegie Historic Library 800 Twelfth Street Paso Robles, CA 93446

Paso Robles San Luis Obispo County California Central Coast opened 1908 Public Library 1908-1998 currently a museum architectural style: Classical Revival (Type B) architect: W. H. Weeks

City Park, part of the original townsite of Paso Robles and donated to the city by two of its founders, J. and D. Blackburn, provides the setting for the Paso Robles Carnegie building. The Classical Revival library, of rosy brick with gray stone trim, surrounded by large old valley oaks and magnolias, exemplifies the Carnegie "temple in a park." The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

A men's group, the Paso Robles Improvement Club, initiated the first library in 1901, and the ladies auxiliary persuaded the city to establish a free public library in 1903. A Carnegie grant of $10,000 was received in 1906 for the building; the park, a full city block between 11th and 12th and Spring and Pine streets, was selected as the site. William H. Weeks, California's most prolific Carnegie architect, designed the building and R.O. Summers was the contractor. A small addition to the rear was built in 1939 by the WPA. Pollsters evaluating the future of the building in 1981 found that 82.6% of the townspeople believed it was "very important" to preserve the building and an overwhelming number cited historic old buildings and City Park as important elements of Paso Robles as a place to live and shop. In 1998 the building was rededicated for its new use by the El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society for local history and genealogy research and displays.

Five years later, earthquake project repairs progressing Posted: Monday, Dec 22nd, 2008 - Paso Robles Press Josh Petray 12-23-08 There are signs of recovery both visible and in store for the city of Paso Robles in the aftermath of the 2003 San Simeon earthquake. Monday marked the anniversary of the temblor, and 2008 marks the turning point in two major repair projects being undertaken by the city in its wake. For the city, the magnitude 6.5 earthquake left the Carnegie Library badly damaged and in need of retrofit and created a sulfurous hole in a portion of the City Hall parking lot. The city has completed all but these two major public facility earthquake-related repair projects. While construction progress on the Carnegie has wrapped up and the site will soon open, officials have targeted fall 2009 for when construction will officially commence on the parking lot and sulfur spring repair. Carnegie Library Construction work has wrapped up, and a notice of completion has been filed on the Carnegie Library, the centerpiece to Paso Robles Downtown City Park. The historic library was fenced off for years as construction crews labored to retrofit the unreinforced masonry building. For members of the public anxious for the return of the library and convenience that goes along with having historical and city libraries side-by-side, theres something to look forward to in 2009. There are plans in the works to open the Carnegie Library to the public after February 2009, officials said. Since the quake, the El Paso de Robles Historical Society housed its materials at the Pioneer Museum and is anxious to move back to its headquarters. Fencing has been removed from the librarys exterior, and there is a sense of excitement amongst those involved over how nice the project turned out. I cant wait for the historical society to get back in there, said Norma Moye, a historical society member and longtime library advocate. The contractor had until Wednesday, Dec. 31 to complete the project, which came in on time. Documentation will be provided to the state and FEMA, said Assistant City Manager Meg Williamson. FEMA has agreed to reimburse a majority of the cost, roughly $1.5 million of the total bid.