The Harrison Memorial Library is a historic building designed by architect

Bernard Maybeck Bernard Ralph Maybeck (February 7, 1862 – October 3, 1957) was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in ...

and built by Michael J. Murphy in 1928. It houses a public library for the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The library provides books, materials and programs that support the pursuit of education, information, recreation, and culture. It includes documents about the history and development of Carmel and the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach. History Monterey Monterey was founded i ...

. The Harrison Memorial Library was named after California Supreme Court Justice Ralph C. Harrison. It was designated as an important commercial building in the city's ''Downtown Historic District Property Survey,'' and was recorded with the Department of Parks and Recreation on November 18, 2002.

History

In 1904, the Carmel Library began in a cottage at the southeast corner of Lincoln Street and Sixth Avenue (behind the current library), at the beginning of the library movement. In 1905, it was called the Carmel Library Association, with almost 4,000 volumes. In 1906, Frank Hubbard Powers and ten people contributed $1 () for a Carmel City Library. By 1907, seventy citizens got involved. Carmel's first library was a wooden structure given by the

Carmel Development Company The Carmel Development Company was a real-estate development company that operated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California from 1902 to 1965. It was developed by James Franklin Devendorf and Frank Hubbard Powers. Powers provided the capital and did th ...

. In 1911, the bylaws were amended and it became the Carmel Free Library. On September 27, 1918, Ella Reid Harrison, announced her plan to donate the land and $20,000 () in bonds to the city to build a library in honor of her late husband who died in on July 18, 1918. She commissioned artist

Jo Mora Joseph Jacinto Mora (October 22, 1876 – October 10, 1947) was a Uruguayan-born American cowboy, photographer, artist, cartoonist, illustrator, painter, muralist, sculptor, and historian who lived with the Hopi and wrote about his experiences in ...

to draw up the plans for the new building. On October 12, 1922, after Ella Reid Harrison's death, her estate financed a memorial to her husband, California Supreme Court Justice Ralph Chandler Harrison (1833-1918), for the purpose of establishing a new public library. Four years later, in June 1927, the board of trustees of the Harrison Memorial Library started proceedings toward building the library. Her estate included rare books, furniture, and a number of valuable art pieces for the library (over 2,000 items). The new library was designed by California architect

in a Spanish Eclectic style and built by Michael J. Murphy, at a cost of $27,373 (). The Harrison Memorial Library opened on March 31, 1928, in a two-story wood-framed building on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. In 1935, the Fee Building, also built by Murphy, opened next to the library. A $40,000 () modernization was done in 1949 by Robert Jones, and a second remodeling in 1977. The library contains digital collections from the 1900s to the 2000s, genealogy tools, house & buildings collections, historical maps, searchable newspapers, and oral history interviews with Carmel residents. The digital collection includes photographs illustrating theater performances by the historic

Forest Theater The Forest Theater is an historic amphitheater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest outdoor theaters west of the Rockies. Actor/director Herbert Heron is generally cited as the founder and driving force, an ...

of Carmel, which was founded in 1910.

Barnet J. Segal Reading Room

Barnet J. Segal setup the ''Barnet J. Segal Charitable Trust'' to distribute his estate for the benefit of

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

. Dr. Herbert and Elaine Berman of Carmel, executors of the trust, gave a $300,000 () donation to the Carmel Public Library Foundation. The Barnet J. Segal Reading Room at the Harrison Memorial Library honors him and was dedicated with a special event on June 4, 1995. The room includes a large window with a view of the garden and seating for 18 is available around three tables. There is also a table and chairs in front of a fireplace. Above the fireplace is a sign that says: "Barnet Segal Reading Room."

Harrison Library Park Branch

By 1989, the library expanded to the a second Park Brank Library located at Mission Street and 6th Avenue. The Henry Meade Williams Local History Room, in honor of Henry Meade Williams, preserves collections of manuscripts, personal papers, photographs, and books relating to Carmel's history. It serves 14,000 registered users with a collection of 6,000 photographs, 2,000 books and letters, diaries, manusciprts, maps, and scrapbooks. The branch has Local History and Youth Services Departments.

Historic preservation

The city of Carmel has created a ''Downtown Conservation District plan'' to protect the historic buildings on Ocean Avenue. The building was recorded with the Department of Parks and Recreation on November 18, 2002. The Harrison Memorial Library meets the selection criteria from criterion 1, as a major cultural institution in Carmel, and one of the first public works projects; and criterion 3, in the area of architecture, as an example of Spanish Eclectic design in a public building, and the only known building in Carmel to be designed by architect Bernard Maybeck.

References

External links

Official website

City Of Carmel-By-The-Sea Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey

Researching homes or buildings in Carmel

Guide to the Carmel Preservation Foundation Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison Memorial Library 1928 establishments in California Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Buildings and structures in California Library buildings completed in 1928 Public libraries in California Tourist attractions in California Education in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California