Colusa, Colusa County
Sacramento Valley area, Central Valley region
Colusa Police Department
260 Sixth Street
Colusa, CA 95932
opened 1906
Colusa Carnegie Library 1906-1964
currently a police department
grant amount: $10,000
architectural style: Classical Revival (Type B)
architect: Stone and Smith
Colusa, on the banks of the Sacramento River, resembles an old Southern town
with its stately homes and tall trees. The dark gray stone Carnegie at the
northwest corner of Jay and Sixth streets faces Courthouse Square and its
white brick Courthouse, California's second oldest. Now the Police Department,
the Carnegie's library identity is established by its cornerstone and by the
names -- Hawthorne, Darwin, Bancroft, Milton, Emerson, Shakespeare -- carved
into stone lentils above its first floor windows. It was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Many reading rooms and libraries preceded the 1900 city council vote to
establish a public library in rented second floor quarters. A Carnegie grant
of $10,000 was received in 1905, and the city purchased the site. Architects
Stone and Smith designed the building; builders were Miller and Blean of
Colusa. The Colusa Women's Club raised additional funds to meet the $13,158
total cost. After the first library and subsequent city offices moved to new
quarters, sale of the Carnegie appeared imminent until a citizens poll
convinced the council to maintain its civic use. It was designated a Colusa
Historic Landmark in 1981 by Ordinance No. 332 which noted its special
features including locally quarried Sites sandstone veneer and parapet, metal
pediment and entablature, and the carved stone lentils.
Sort listings by...
City |
Area |
Region |
Style |
Architect |
Use
Home |
About |
History |
Styles |
Listings |
Resources
Contact Information