Carnegie Library
Soon after Calexico was incorporated in 1908, the newly formed Women’s Improvement Club (WIC) determined to seek Carnegie funding for a city library, enlisting the help of the Farmers and Merchants Club. The original 1916 design of the Calexico Carnegie Library by Los Angeles architects Allison and Allison had to be simplified when the Carnegie Foundation decided that the town’s size did not merit the amount requested. The Spanish Colonial Revival-style library opened in 1919 and served as the city’s library until 1986, when a new library building opened. The building was used as a storage facility until it was restored in 2007. It is now a branch of the Calexico City Library, serving as a computer lab known as the Carnegie Technology Center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Calexico, Imperial County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt