Alhambra Public Library: where was it? (San Gabriel: live in, building, place)

[cazboy]

Just wondering what happened to the huge, grand library in Alhambra, I think it was on Las Tunas. I grew up in the '50's in San Gabriel, and I fondly recall going to the library with my family. I remember there were big statues of lions out front. Inside were what seemed like millions of books, and they actually had Stereopticons with the photographic cards! Those were fun to look at, especially as a small child.

I now live in Arizona, but I was in L.A. recently and I went hunting for the Alhambra public library and I couldn't find it on Las Tunas. I suppose it went the way of the dinosaurs, and was probably replaced by a smaller building elsewhere. Too bad - it was a big part of my early education. I learned how to look for a book using all the filing cards in the wooden drawers there!

[cazboy]

Mr Cheap, thanks for that. That's a shame, but I see from the website that it was torn down because of structural damages.

One fascinating thing (at least to me) is that here in Prescott Valley in northern Arizona, I found a book at our local swap meet that was stamped on the inside front cover "ALHAMBRA PUBLIC LIBRARY". It was stamped 1958 - I was 6 years old that year, and I was going to the library in Alhambra with my family at that time. So it stands to reason that I was physically somewhere near that very book at some point as a child, and I found it at a swap meet in Arizona decades later!

Thanks again.

[Voyageuse]

It might have been torn down in 1968, but it was rebuilt. A new library stood on Main St. for a while. I remember getting my passport there in 1989. It has since been demolished, but another Alhambra Library is currently located on First St.

Alhambra Civic Center Library

[cazboy]

Originally Posted by Voyageuse

It might have been torn down in 1968, but it was rebuilt. A new library stood on Main St. for a while. I remember getting my passport there in 1989. It has since been demolished, but another Alhambra Library is currently located on First St.

Alhambra Civic Center Library

Thank you Voyageuse.