Posts Tagged ‘Libraries’

Alonzo Horton, ca. 1868.

Mr. A. E. Horton yesterday donated to the San Diego Free Reading Room Association his fine library. It will be remembered by old residents that this library was bought as the nucleus for a public institution some time ago, Mr. Horton having paid a large sum of money for it.  –San Diego Union, May 21, 1873.

San Diego’s first public library struggled to open its doors. A large book donation by city father Alonzo Horton was a start. But there were strings attached. . .

The story of San Diego’s First Library.

San Diego is three years away from a new Central Library.  Getting libraries built in San Diego is a historic problem.  Follow the link below for a six-minute video on the plans for the New Central and a history of difficulties in the past: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/nov/12/downtown-library-always-too-popular-too-small/

This is a book of defamation, of depravity, written by an atheistic, degenerate mind and yet it is honored with a place in Public Libraries.  —San Diego Patriotic Society, January 1963.

The issue of “banned books” has been with society for centuries. Here’s a story of how the San Diego Public Library coped with censorship in 1963. Read: The Last Temptation.

The building was populated with an amazing assortment of wildlife: squirrels, bees, doves, flies, lost cats and dogs, lizards, fleas, termites, spiders, and mice. None of these visitors could really be blamed on the proximity of the Zoo next door. The staff learned not to feed the squirrels, to administer soda and sympathy for bee stings, [and] to wield a well-aimed fly swatter . . . —Clara Breed, City Librarian.

Read here about The Library in Balboa Park

The Public Library in Balboa Park’s Food and Beverage Building, 1953.

For nearly fifty years the San Diego Public Library used bookmobiles to bring library service to greater San Diego. Elementary schools and shopping centers were regular stops for the library-on-wheels. Read more about the Bookmobiles.

The San Diego Public Library began in 1882. San Diego’s “literary resort” was the second floor of a bank building at Fifth and G, where it shared space with a dentist’s office.

Read more about the first Public Library.

One of America’s greatest artists left an impressive legacy in San Diego.

Guardian of the Waters

Donal Hord, best known for his monumental stone figures, created works of sculpture that have endured at sites throughout our region.  Read more: Donal Hord

The philanthropist Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of 1,689 libraries in the United States between 1883 and 1929. San Diego was the site of the first Carnegie library in California.

Read more about the Carnegie Library in San Diego and see the film below.:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2QzzcMEhiE