Redwood City, San Mateo County

Monterey to San Francisco area, San Francisco Bay Area region

opened 1905
Public library from 1905-1939
demolished, 1950

grant amount: $10,000
architectural style: Classical Revival (Type C)
architect: Alfred Coffey

Redwood City's $10,000 Carnegie library was just a year old when it was damaged by the 1906 earthquake. Carnegie donated another $6,000 for repairs. Redwood City was San Mateo County's oldest city, incorporated in 1868, and its first library was the 1867 Franklin Library, which shared space in the office of the San Mateo County Times. An 1888 Library Association established a subscription reading room. Town trustees began to support the library in 1890 and it became a free public library in 1900. Throughout this time the library occupied a succession of locations. The Carnegie grant was received in February 1904. The architect, Alfred Coffee designed the building in the Classical Revival style. It was constructed on land donated by the High School trustees and opened in 1905. Although the library moved to a new library building in 1939, the Carnegie building stood until 1950, when it was demolished.