Lincoln, Placer County

Gold Country area, Gold Country region

Lincoln Public Library
590 Fifth Street
Lincoln, CA 95648

opened 1909
Public Library 1909-present
currently a public library

grant amount: $6,000
architectural style: Classical Revival (Type C)
architect: Allen D. Fellows

The brick and terra cotta products of Gladding McBean have contributed to notable buildings throughout California and elsewhere. In its home town too, "The Pottery" figured significantly in local history and in the construction of the brick Carnegie library with arched transom and windows framed by smooth, shaped and fitted terra cotta blocks. The Classical Revival library at the northeast corner of Fifth and F streets was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Having begun as a railroad terminal in 1859, Lincoln was bypassed by the main line and in 1875 was facing stagnation when Charles Gladding recognized the quality of newly discovered clay deposits and, with McBean and others, established the now famous "Pottery." An 1890 reading room was Lincoln's earliest library which, typically, moved many times. In 1906 the City appointed a board of trustees which petitioned for Carnegie funds; $6000 was awarded in 1907. When the lowest bid exceeded that amount, Gladding McBean donated the $2475 difference in materials. Allen D. Fellows designed the library and Hoyt Bros. of Santa Rosa were the builders. In recent years the library has been enhanced by landscaping with turn of the century arbor, cast iron benches, and a rear courtyard.