In 2011, I wrote a South Bay History blog post about the San Pedro public library building that opened in 1906. The distinctive domed building at 820 Beacon St. was funded by steel industry titan Andrew Carnegie, one of 1,689 libraries he funded during his lifetime.
But that library, which closed in 1923, is only a small part of San Pedro’s long history of providing library services to its residents.
That history dates back to the city’s earliest days. The first meeting of the San Pedro Literary Association took place on Jan. 12, 1888, the same year the city was incorporated. (It had been listed as a township as early as the 1860 U.S. Census.)
At that meeting, the new group’s more than 40 members announced plans to establish a library. Land was acquired in the Vinegar Hill area of the town, and a building housing the library soon went up at 8th and Palos Verdes streets.
Its cornerstone was laid on July 19, 1888, and the literary association’s first meeting at the new building took place on Nov. 18 of that year.
In 1903, the San Pedro Library was reorganized as a free public library. Almost immediately, the search began for funding and a location for a larger structure. In 1905, the literary association applied for a Carnegie Foundation Grant to fund the project.
Andrew Carnegie himself responded to the request, reportedly questioning the need for a larger structure in the small but growing town.
The association convinced him, and the $10,000 in grant money he approved allowed for the construction of the Carnegie Library building that opened on Beacon St. across the street from the city’s main post office in 1906.
When Los Angeles annexed San Pedro in 1909 after it became the official site of the city’s seaport, the library became the San Pedro branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system. (San Pedro unincorporated itself as an independent city in order to facilitate the change.)
In what would become a familiar pattern, the popular library eventually outgrew its home. In July 1922, the committee charged with finding a new home managed to secure the required $80,000 in financing for a new structure at 10th and Gaffey streets, about a half mile from the previous location.
It hired the architectural firm of Farrell & Miller to design the new building. Richard Farrell had previously designed several buildings at Torrance High School, including the renowned main building that opened to students in 1917. The new San Pedro library opened in June 1924.
Unfortunately, it was built on a landfill over a former arroyo, and over the next couple of decades, its underpinnings became increasingly unstable. The 1933 Long Beach earthquake only worsened its problems. In 1943, it was condemned as unsafe.
Without a suitable large public building available to move into, the library was forced to divide its collection into three parts, which were then moved into three elementary schools,: Barton Hill, Leland Street and 15th Street. The stopgap measure was made with the promise that a new library would be built after the end of World War II.
In 1944, the three parts were reunited temporarily in a makeshift operation set up in a large garage at 525 W. Seventh St. while the library awaited its new home.
The wait lasted five years. In 1948, San Pedro architect James Friend was told to complete his plans for the new library, which was to be built on the same 10th and Gaffey site as the razed old one.
After delays due to soil testing and other concerns, construction began in August 1948. This iteration, which cost $134,000, would last longer than its predecessor.
The new, larger library was dedicated on May 1, 1949, following a three-week closure of the “garage library” while its contents were moved to the new site.
More than 500 people attended the dedication, including Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, who ceremonially presented the new library to San Pedro.
When the time came for a new, larger and more modern library 34 years later, the decision was made to remain at 931 S. Gaffey St. This time around, the 1949 library building was torn down and used as a parking lot for the new library building.
Built at a cost of $4.4 million, the new branch, three times larger than its predecessor, opened to the public on March 7, 1983. Dedication ceremonies for the Spanish-style building were held on May 18, 1983. Aside from the downtown Central Library, the San Pedro library remains the largest facility in the 72-branch LAPL system.
On April 7, 2025, the 42-year-old library reopened after a seven-month closure during which it underwent a major $1 million renovation. In addition to remodeling its interior furnishings and updating its overall look, its computer network connections also were modernized.
Sources:
Daily Breeze archives.
Los Angeles Times archives.
My San Pedro: Scenic Historic San Pedro, Los Angeles, California website.
San Pedro Bay Historical Society website.
San Pedro News Pilot archives.
