The Carnegie Corporation of New York recently gifted $20,000 to the Santa Cruz Public Libraries to honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish immigrant who made his millions in the steel industry through ruthless business dealings and technological innovation. He championed free public libraries and funded thousands of library buildings, among other institutions, nationwide.
Carnegie paid for the construction of 1,681 free public libraries across United States over 30 years at the turn of the 20th century. He asked only that local jurisdictions make the commitment to continue funding the libraries’ future operations.
Between 1903 and 1921, the Santa Cruz public library system received four separate grants from the Carnegie Corporation to construct a main library and three branch buildings.
“The Carnegie Library” was built in 1903 with $20,000 in Carnegie funds. The main library on Church Street in Santa Cruz became the central hub for the county library system. In 1953, the city deemed the building too small, and it was demolished to clear the path for the present downtown branch in 1966.
A Carnegie grant paid for both the East Cliff Branch Library in Seabright and the Garfield Park Branch Library, which opened in 1915. In the 1950s, the City Museum combined with the East Cliff Library. The library portion closed in 1965, and the museum transformed into the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. The Garfield Park Library, at 705 Woodrow Ave. on the Westside is now the only original Carnegie-funded library building that remains open.
The Eastside Branch Library on Soquel Avenue was the last built of the four branches. Although the Carnegie grant was received in 1917, World War I delayed construction.
The Eastside Library opened in 1921, but over the decades, people struggled to reach the building due to traffic on Water and Poplar streets and Soquel Avenue. In 1964, the city built a new Eastside branch. The original Eastside Library closed in 1967 to make room for the Branciforte Library, which opened that same year.
Santa Cruz Public Libraries said it will put the new Carnegie gift toward “historical preservation of democracy, and promoting the understanding of the roles and rights of citizens,” in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary.
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