The Free Public Library of Petaluma (also Old Carnegie Library, Carnegie Free Library and Petaluma Historical Library and Museum) is a

research library A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...

and

history museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

at 20 Fourth Street in

Petaluma Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village nam ...

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa. It is to the north of Marin County and the south of Mendocino ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, US. Built in 1904 as a Carnegie Free Library, it was designed by

Brainerd Jones Brainerd Jones (1865 – 1949) was an American architect who designed and built most of the architecturally-significant buildings in Petaluma, California. Jones is best known for designing three Carnegie libraries in Sonoma County, two of ...

as his first major

commission Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

before the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

gained regional recognition. In the 1970s, it was re-purposed as a research library and historical museum, known as the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum. The building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

History

Petaluma's first library, an Odd Fellows library, dates to 1858, which was opened to the public within a decade, and by 1878, its ownership was transferred to the city as part of the

Rogers Free Library Act Often referred to as the Rogers Free Library Act, the Rogers Act of 1878 (officially, California State Senate Bill Number 1) was an 1877 bill written in the upper house of the California State Legislature and signed into law on March 18, 1878, by G ...

. Funding for the Carnegie library came from local donations totaling $7,500 and Andrew Carnegie's donation of $12,500. It was built by R.W. Moller and W.S. Stradling from a design by Jones, with this being his first major commission before the architect gained regional recognition. The library opened in early 1906. On April 18, the building was seriously damaged following an earthquake. With few changes through the decades, the building served as a Carnegie Free Library until 1976. In 1988, it was listed on the

. It is now a historical museum with research library.

Architecture and fittings

Construction began in 1904 in the

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styl ...

architectural style using quarried stone from Stony Point. The entrance is two-storied, with

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s and columns. The interior includes a vaulted ceiling, leaded glass skylight, and wood paneling. There are fan-glass windows, round leaded-glass windows, and a leaded glass

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

which is the largest free-standing one in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

Collections

The Hoppy Hopkins Memorial Research Library, named after local historian Hoppy Hopkins (1921-2003), supports the locality's historical, genealogical, and architectural research with items such as maps, blueprints, newspapers, city directories, and

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

s. The museum features items relating to the area's history, such as the

Miwok people The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word ...

, and the poultry and dairy industries.

Grounds

The building was constructed upon a lot on the corner of Fourth and B streets. Carnegie required that the land be contributed by the city of Petaluma; and the lot was sold to the city by civic leader Addie Atwater. Three of the trees on the lot, a

Giant Sequoia ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

, a

California Live Oak ''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable, often evergreen oak tree, a type of live oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is g ...

, and a

Bunya-Bunya ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine and sometimes referred to as the false monkey puzzle tree, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Austral ...

, are registered

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

or landmark trees.

Petaluma Historical Library and Museum Independence Day celebration

References

External links

Petaluma Historical Library and Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Public Library of Petaluma 1906 establishments in California Carnegie libraries in California National Register of Historic Places in Sonoma County, California Research libraries in the United States Libraries established in 1906 Petaluma, California Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in California