Carnegie Library

John C. Austin, 1908

The Carnegie Library was designed by John C. Austin and built in 1908.

Anaheim’s history is preserved in the historic Carnegie Library building which was built in 1908 and is the last remaining example in Orange County of Andrew Carnegie’s vision. Anaheim had its own Library as early as 1873 and was granted $10,000 for a Carnegie building. The building was designed by John C. Austin of Los Angeles who also designed the Griffith Park Observatory and the Shrine Auditorium. He added Mission influence to a Classical Revival style suggested by the red roof tile over the wide low rectangle of the building, beige and tan brick, shady recessed portico, and adjacent palm trees, conveying the sense of an indigenous adobe building. The Carnegie building served as a library from 1909-1963.