Memorial Branch Library, Los Angeles | |
 Memorial Branch, 2008 | |
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| Location | 4645 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, California |
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| Coordinates | 34°3′22″N118°23′7″W / 34.05611°N 118.38528°W Coordinates: 34°3′22″N118°23′7″W / 34.05611°N 118.38528°W |
| Built | 1930 |
| Architect | Austin, John C. |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| MPS | Los Angeles Branch Library System TR |
| NRHP reference # | 87001015 [1] |
| LAHCM # | 81 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 19, 1987 |
| Designated LAHCM | 1971-04-07 [2] |
Memorial Branch is a branch library of the Los Angeles Public Library. It was built in 1930 based on a Gothic Revival design by architect John C. Austin, also noted as the lead architect of the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Masonic Temple. The library includes a large heraldic work of stained glass created by the artists at Judson Studios.
The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) serves the residents of the City of Los Angeles. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with over 18 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the largest population of any publicly funded library system in the United States. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the mayor of Los Angeles in staggered terms in accordance with the city charter.
Gothic Revival is an architectural movement popular in the Western world that began in the late 1740s in England. Its momentum grew in the early 19th century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, in contrast to the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival draws features from the original Gothic style, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, hood moulds and label stops.
John Corneby Wilson Austin was an architect and civic leader who participated in the design of several landmark buildings in Southern California, including the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles City Hall, and the Shrine Auditorium.
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In 1987, the Memorial Branch and several other branch libraries in Los Angeles were added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of a thematic group submission. [3] 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. In the movie, Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler, this library serves as the children's elementary school.
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. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.
The Library underwent a major restoration in the mid-1990s, reopening in 1996. The library relocated to office space near John Burroughs Middle School in the interim.
