| San Diego Central Library | |
|---|---|
 The building's exterior, 2024 | |
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| General information | |
| Town or city | San Diego, California |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 32°42′32″N117°09′15″W / 32.7089°N 117.1542°W |
The San Diego Central Library is the main branch of the San Diego Public Library, a public library system serving San Diego, California.
In 1952, the existing Carnegie Library was demolished; the updated Central Library was opened at the same location on June 27, 1954.
In 2010, construction began on a new, $184.9 million, 366,673 square feet (34,065 square metres) [1] central city library at 330 Park Boulevard in downtown San Diego. After fifty years, the Central Library closed, permanently, on June 9, 2013, commencing the 10-week process of transferring its 2.6-million-item collection to the new location. [2] Over the years, many branch libraries have been opened throughout San Diego.
The 9-story structure was designed by San Diego architect Rob Wellington Quigley. It is topped with an iconic steel-and-mesh lattice dome over a two-story rare book reading-room. [3] It opened on September 30, 2013. [2] The library displays numerous books and collections, including the Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center.
The Center houses the second largest collection of baseball memorabilia in the U.S. [4] It was founded in 2000, with a donation of books from the Society for American Baseball Research. By 2012, its collection included thousands of books, films, magazines, baseball cards and other collector’s items, with an aim to be the "go-to place for baseball research west of the Mississippi". [5]
The Central Library also houses a charter high school, e3 Civic High School, which is billed as the only school in the U.S. to be housed within a library. The school is located on the sixth and seventh floors of the library and is visible to, but not accessible by, the public. The school serves grades 9-12. It opened several weeks ahead of the library, on September 3, 2013, with an initial student body of 260 ninth and tenth graders. The junior and senior grades were added in 2014 and 2015, resulting in a student body of approximately 500. [6]
Since May of 2018 there has been a noticeable increase in crimes and disturbances surrounding the San Diego Public Library. The Library has taken measures to counteract these incidents, including stationing up to 9 guards each day, trained to administer naloxone, used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. According to news outlets in January, San Diego police lieutenant Ryan Hallahan told the news that they are increasing enforcement in the area going forward following complaints over the safety of children attending e3 Civic High inside the facility. In recent years the amount of calls the San Diego Police Department receives surrounding the Library number to at least one call per day. [7] [8]
In 2013, the Central Library received several awards. It received the National Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering, [9] and the Decorative Concrete Council, a specialty council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors awarded the library "Best of Show". [10] The Central Library also received an Orchid Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation's Orchids & Onions Awards. [11]
San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.3 million residents, it is the eighth-most populous city in the United States and the second-most populous in the state of California, after Los Angeles. San Diego is the seat of San Diego County, which has a population of nearly 3.3 million people. It is known for its mild year-round Mediterranean climate, extensive beaches and parks, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.
The University of California, San Diego is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is the southernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California. It offers over 200 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, enrolling 33,096 undergraduate and 9,872 graduate students, with the second largest student housing capacity in the nation. The university occupies 2,178 acres (881 ha) near the Pacific coast.
Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census.
La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California, located nine miles east of downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of the Hills."
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is the oldest higher education institution in San Diego; its academic roots were established as a normal school in University Heights, then known as the San Diego Normal School. In the fall of 2024, the university enrolled over 38,000 students.
Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Park opened in 2004, replacing San Diego Stadium as the team's home venue, where the Padres played from their inception in 1969 to 2003.
City Heights is a dense urban community in central San Diego, California, known for its ethnic diversity. The area was previously known as East San Diego. City Heights is located south of Mission Valley and northeast of Balboa Park.
The San Diego Public Library is a public library system serving San Diego, California.
San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public schools in California, and the oldest in the state still on its original site.
Poway High School is a four-year high school in Poway, California. Established in 1961, its approximately 2,408 students are from Poway and the community of Rancho Bernardo. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Patrick Henry High School is a four-year public high school in San Diego, California, United States. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. It is attended by students residing in Del Cerro, San Carlos, Allied Gardens, Mission Valley and the College Area.
Horton Plaza was a five-level outdoor shopping mall in downtown San Diego, California. It was designed by Jon Jerde and was known for its bright colors, architectural tricks, and odd spatial rhythms, occupying 6.5 city blocks adjacent to the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. Opening in 1985, it was the first successful downtown retail center since the rise of suburban shopping centers decades earlier.
Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven districts: Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, Columbia, Marina, Cortez Hill, Little Italy, and Core.
East Village is a neighborhood in San Diego, California, United States. It is the largest urban neighborhood in downtown San Diego. It is located east of the Gaslamp Quarter and southeast of the Core district and Cortez Hill in downtown San Diego. East Village encompasses 130 blocks between Seventh Avenue east to 18th Street. It is home to more than 700 businesses.
Rancho Buena Vista High School or "RBV" is a California Distinguished School and International Baccalaureate Organization World School, located in Vista, California. In the 1990–1991 and 1994–1995 school years Rancho Buena Vista High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. It has a 7/10 GreatSchools rating and a 90% 4-year graduation rate.
Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) is a public high school in northeast San Diego, California, United States, that serves the Scripps Ranch community as well as students participating in the Voluntary Enrollment Exchange Program (VEEP) busing program of the San Diego Unified School District.
Southeast San Diego refers to the southeastern portion of San Diego, including the neighborhoods south of State Route 94 and east of downtown San Diego. Southeast San Diego has no official definition, but it may be considered coterminous with three official planning areas: Skyline-Paradise Hills, Chollas Valley, and Southeastern.
James Madison High School is a public high school in San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. Madison's 50-acre (200,000 m2) campus opened in 1962. Serving almost 1,100 students in grades 9–12, it is located in the Clairemont Mesa East neighborhood, north of Balboa Ave, south of Clairemont Mesa Blvd, and west of Interstate 805.
Todd Rex Gloria is an American politician serving as the 37th mayor of San Diego since 2020. As mayor, he is the chief executive officer of the city of San Diego. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
e3 Civic High is a free public charter high school serving grades 9 through 12, located in the San Diego Central Library.
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