National Register of Historic Places

Grass Valley Public Library

Grass Valley, Nevada County, California
Listed
March 26, 1992
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
92000267

About this property

The Grass Valley Public Library (renamed the Grass Valley Library-Royce Branch) is a Carnegie library and on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in Grass Valley, California and a part of the Nevada County Library System, it is open Tuesday through Saturday. There were several early attempts to establish a library in the California Gold Rush town of Grass Valley. The first was in 1860, followed by another in 1869, but neither survived. The Emmanuel Episcopal Church was established in Grass Valley in 1858, but it wasn't until 1901 that the non-denominational Emmanuel Church Library opened to provide library services to "the Atheist and the Buddhist if such there be". A decade later, the city became the library's governing body. It requested a Carnegie grant in 1914 and received $15,000 the following year. The chosen building site, at 207 Mill Street, near the intersection of Mill and Neal Street, had been the birthplace and early home of philosopher Josiah Royce. In 2005, the library, now a branch of the county library system, was renamed to honor Royce. San Francisco architect William Sebastian Mooser was selected over William Weeks to design the new library. The builders were Welch Bros. and Hannemann from Oakland who also built the Gridley Carnegie Library. The building is of Neoclassical architecture (also known as "classical revival" style). Its exterior includes red brick and white pilasters.

Location

207 Mill St.
Grass Valley, Nevada County, California
39.21612, -121.06484

Categories

ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Mount St. Mary's Academy and Convent
Industrial
0.2 mi
Empire Mine
Industrial
1.3 mi
North Star House
Industrial
1.6 mi
Sargent, Aaron A., House
Industrial
4 mi
Nevada Theatre
Industrial
4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Grass Valley Public Library listed on the National Register?

Grass Valley Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1992.

What type of historic resource is Grass Valley Public Library?

Grass Valley Public Library is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Grass Valley Public Library?

The period of significance for Grass Valley Public Library is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Grass Valley Public Library?

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