Santa Rosa's library history includes several short-lived libraries between 1859 and formation of the Santa Rosa Library Association in 1875. An 1878 offer of this library to the city under the Rogers Act was declined; it was 1884 before the combined efforts of women's organizations and the newspaper editor succeeded in the city taking over the library and providing space in City Hall. In 1890 Santa Rosa hired the county's first professional librarian, Bertha Kumli, who guided the Carnegie project through from the application for $35,000 and acceptance of the offered $20,000 in March, 1902. Community leaders purchased a lot and Sacramento architect E. M. Hoen designed the building in the Romanesque style. The builder was William Peacock of San Francisco. The cornerstone was laid on April 14, 1903 and the building opened on March 10, 1904. Miss Kumli next joined the State Library and achieved a statewide reputation for her work for the county library system and in helping small communities establish public libraries. The Carnegie building was extensively damaged in the 1906 earthquake, and Carnegie provided $6,900 in additional funding for repairs. The building then served as library until 1960 when it was condemned as unsafe. The books were moved to temporary quarters, the old building was demolished in 1964. A new library on the same site was completed in 1967.

The new Santa Rosa Public Library on Fourth Street at E Street -- the same location as the current Central Santa Rosa Library -- opened to great fanfare in 1904...

...and just two years later, crumbled in the great 1906 earthquake (SCL photo 43349)

The rebuilt library served the citizens, including the children, of Santa Rosa well for many years. Toward the end, Children's Librarian Dagney Jewell and her staff could barely squeeze their young patrons into the children's room.

From the outside, the library still looked magnificent...

...but on the inside, deferred maintenance had taken its toll and in 1960, the building was condemned.

The library moved to (very tight) temporary quarters in rented second-floor space opposite Courthouse Square on Exchange Street...

...and a successful campaign was launched to build a new--and larger--public library for Santa Rosa. This short 1964 film, narrated by Sonoma County's future poet laureate, Don Emblen presents the case for building a new public library in Santa Rosa, Calif., the "city designed for living." The film notes that the old and decrepit Carnegie library was closed in 1960 and the library moved into temporary quarters in a small, rented 2nd story space on Exchange Street. Nearly four years later, the library remained in temporary quarters; meanwhile, San Leandro, Calif., opened a modern and spacious library "designed for living." Will Santa Rosans be up to the challenge of creating an institution worthy of its slogan?

Meanwhile, the old Carnegie library was reduced to rubble for the last time...

...and the site was prepared for the new library that serves Santa Rosa and Sonoma County to this day.

Want to see more photos of Santa Rosa's library history? Check out our many images in Sonoma County Local History & Culture.