Richard Henry Dana Branch

Dana, Richard Henry, Branch
Richard Henry Dana Branch, closed and vacant, May 2008
Richard Henry Dana Branch is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Richard Henry Dana Branch
Richard Henry Dana Branch is located in California
Richard Henry Dana Branch
Richard Henry Dana Branch is located in the United States
Richard Henry Dana Branch
Location3320 Pepper Ave., Cypress Park, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°5′27″N 118°13′18″W / 34.09083°N 118.22167°W / 34.09083; -118.22167
Built1926
ArchitectBent, Harry S.
Architectural styleGeorgian Revival
MPSLos Angeles Branch Library System TR
NRHP reference No.87001007 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 19, 1987

Richard Henry Dana Branch, named after Richard Henry Dana Jr. and later known as the Cypress Park Branch, is a former branch library of the Los Angeles Public Library located in the Cypress Park, Los Angeles, California section of Los Angeles, California. The Georgian Revival style building was built in 1926 based on a design by architect Harry S. Bent.

In 1987, the Richard Henry Dana Branch and several other branch libraries in Los Angeles were added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of a thematic group submission.[2] The application noted that the branch libraries had been constructed in a variety of period revival styles to house the initial branch library system of the City of Los Angeles. With respect to the Dana Branch, the application described the building as a charming one-story New England Colonial Revival Style building. It is designed in an L-plan with a high-pitched gable roof. The portico features paired wood paneled doors with an arched canopy supported by paneled posts.[2] It was initially creamy green with a deep green roof.

In 2001, ground was broken for the construction of a new branch library in Cypress Park. The new branch, with 35,000 books, several computer stations and a community meeting room, is three times larger than the schoolhouse-type library branch on Pepper Avenue that served Cypress Park since 1927. There were plans to use the old branch as a senior citizens center.[3]

The old library finally reopened as a community center on December 14, 2015. It has been renamed as The Cypress Park Club House.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b The Los Angeles Branch Library System TR Multiple Property Submission nomination explains 22 branch libraries but one, the University Branch, appears not to have been listed.
  3. ^ "Los Angeles; Groundbreaking for New Library Lifts Troubled Cypress Park's Spirits; Infrastructure: The community is trying to shed its gang-marred stigma, caused by a slaying of a 3-year-old girl in 1995". Los Angeles Times. 2001-06-26.