Watts was a small working man's city without a library at the time of its application for Carnegie funding. A grant of $10,000 was received in 1913 and the building was completed in 1914. The architect Elmore Jeffery designed the building in the Classical Revival style. The builder was H.E. La Rue. With little tax base, Watts had trouble providing utilities and services, including library service, and became the only Los Angeles County municipality to join the county library system before 1917. In 1926, seeking relief from the postwar depression and unemployment, and needing a larger base, Watts sought annexation to Los Angeles. The Watts Library then became a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. In 1957, voters approved a Branch Library Bond Issue, and funding was made available for the construction of a new facility. The new Watts Branch was opened in 1960. The Carnegie building is no longer standing. [http://www.carnegie-libraries.org/california/watts.html] Exterior view of the Watts Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, located at 9901 Grandee Street. Written on back of photo: Exterior-Old Watts Library
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b20_f19_006a.tif ark:/21198/z1sb5pw9
Subject
Watts (Los Angeles, Calif.) Library buildings Carnegie libraries Neoclassicism (Architecture) Branch libraries Los Angeles Public Library (Calif.). Watts Branch Library Jeffrey, Elmore Robinson, 1876-1931
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