Malabar Branch Library is a branch library of the

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California, operating separate from the Los Angeles County Public Library system. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million resid ...

located in the

Boyle Heights Boyle may refer to: Places United States * Boyle, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Boyle, Mississippi, a town *Boyle County, Kentucky *Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, a neighborhood Elsewhere * Boyle (crater), a lunar crater * 11967 Boyle, ...

section of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The Malabar Branch began in 1914 as a book depository in a Sunday school room at the Brooklyn Heights Methodist Church on the corner of Evergreen Avenue and Malabar Street. The original collection consisted of approximately 900 books that were checked out on the

honor system An honor system, trust system or honesty system is a way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. The honor system is also a system granting freedom from customary surveillance (as to students or prisoners) with ...

. In 1925, a bond issue was passed by Los Angeles voters providing funds for the construction of 14 new branch libraries, including the current Malabar Branch. Construction on the new

Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

building started in 1926, and the new library was opened in May 1927. The building was designed by architect William Lee Woollett. The Malabar Branch was damaged in the

1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake occurred in the southern San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities of Southern California, United States, at on October 1. The moderate magnitude 5.9 blind thrust earthquake was centered several miles ...

and was closed. The branch was extensively renovated and reopened in 1992 with separate reading rooms for adults and children, a multipurpose room and a patron services room. In 1987, the Malabar Branch and several other branch libraries in Los Angeles were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as part of a thematic group submission.The Multiple Property Submission nomination explains 22 branch libraries but one, the University Branch, appears not to have been listed. The application noted that the branch libraries had been constructed in a variety of period revival styles to house the initial branch library system of the City of Los Angeles. With respect to the Malabar Branch, the application described the building as a one-story, brick structure designed in a revival style reminiscent of rural Latin America. The Malabar Branch is a

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cul ...

References

External links

Malabar Branch Library
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History of Malabar Branch, 1949, written by the staff of the branch

Malabar Branch History, 1936-1949

History of Malabar Branch, 1949-1959

History of Malabar Branch, 1959-1969

Jew in the literature of the last decade: A selected list of books by Jews or relating to them, a booklist created by the Malabar Branch Library staff in the 1920s to meet the needs of Boyle Heights' large Jewish community
{{LAHMC Library buildings completed in 1927 Libraries in Los Angeles Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Mediterranean Revival architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Boyle Heights, Los Angeles

See also

References

External links