- City:
- Long Beach, CA
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Libraries
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Started:
- 1933
- Quality of Information:
- Moderate
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- No Longer Extant
Description
The Lincoln Park library was originally funded by the Carnegie Foundation and built in 1907. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) rehabilitated the library after it was damaged by the March 1933 Long Beach earthquake. It appears that the reconstruction was rather thorough, but confirmation is needed on that.
The WPA library was destroyed by a fire in 1972 and a new library was built across the street (still within Lincoln Park).
There were extensive Federal Art Project/WPA murals in the old library which were transferred to the new one.
Source notes
Connolly, Donald H. and G. I. Farman. Report of Accomplishments of the Operations Division. Works Progress Administration: Southern California. January 1, 1939.
Site originally submitted by Shaina Potts on May 4, 2010.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.
Contribute to this Site
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.
Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site
The “postcard” commentary has a typo: “rogue courts”–should be “roque courts”.
I have fond memories of the old library and its great librarians, and of old Lincoln Park.
They had a whole shelf of P. G. Wodehouse, all the Hornblower series, etc. etc. You’re lucky to find even one Wodehouse now in the new “best seller” libraries… I would trade all the computers for the old card catalogue in a heartbeat.