- City:
- Altadena, CA
- Site Type:
- Libraries, Education and Health
- New Deal Agencies:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1938
- Completed:
- 1938
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Partially Extant
Description
Located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, this building in Altadena, CA was constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) at a cost of $47,000. The funding was secured by William B. Davies, who also aided in the establishment of Farnsworth Park further up Lake Ave. Designed by architect Frederick Marsh, it originally served as the Altadena Public Library. The building’s classical pediment, still engraved with “Altadena Public Library,” faces Lake Avenue, preserving its historic identity even after the library relocated.
This site was the library’s main location from 1938 until 1968, when the current Altadena Libraries’ Main Branch opened at 600 E. Mariposa Street, just west of Lake Avenue at Santa Rosa Avenue—also known as historic Christmas Tree Lane. The library’s early history dates back to 1908, when its first iteration consisted of a bookshelf in the restroom of a three-room schoolhouse on Calaveras Street. In 1918, a satellite location operated out of what is now Andrew Jackson Elementary School on Woodbury Drive. The Altadena Library District became an independent special district in December 1926.
As of 2023 the site appears to now be a privately-owned, single-family home (3,966 square feet). A sign posted above what appears to be the residents’ mail slot in the property’s outer wall states that the site is not a library and points visitors to the Mariposa St. address.
The building suffered damage in the Jan. 2025 Eaton fire, “leaving only exterior walls and portions of the roof.”
Source notes
1) Report of Accomplishments of the Operations Division, WPA Southern California (January 1, 1939).
2) http://altadenatowncouncil.org/history/ [Dating of this site and correct dates of current Altadena Library's opening]
3) https://www.altadenalibrary.org/about-the-district/ [Library's origins (quoting Dorothy K. Hassler's 1969 book, "Altadena: Yesterday and Today") and construction date of current Mariposa St. main library]
4) https://www.zillow.com/ [Status of 2366 Lake Ave. property and its square footage]
Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on July 14, 2023.
Additional contributions by Jessica Berman, Jacob Woods.
Site Details
| Federal Cost |
|---|
| $47,000 |
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Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site4 comments on “Library (former) – Altadena CA”
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Jacob Woods
Living New Deal
Jim C.
Caryl Eagle
Sadly this building seems to have burnt in the recent (January 2025) fires, leaving only exterior walls and portions of the roof.
Thank you for letting us know.
I believe the renowned glamour photographer Mario Casilli bought and converted that old library into a home and studio back in the early 90s.
Yes you are correct about Mario Casilli and the library. I was photographed by him there many times in the 1970s.