HLC Agenda: 5/7/08 Item No.: 4.c.

CITYOF ~ SAN]OSE ~ Memorandum CAPITAL OF SILICON VALLEY

TO: Historic Landmarks Commission FROM: Sally Zamowitz

SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: April 23, 2008

COUNCIL DISTRICT: 1 SNI: None

PRESUMPTIVE CITY LANDMARK NOMINATION FOR THE FORMER DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (MLK) MAIN LIBRARY BUILDING (HL08-170)

BACKGROUND

The former Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Main Library Building, located at 180 W. San Carlos Street, is a six-story, board-formed concrete building, designed from 1965 to 1967 and completed in 1970 within the late modem (1930-1970) architectural period. The San Jose Redevelopment Agency commissioned the environmental firm ofLSA, Inc. to prepare the environmental documentation for an Initial Study to consider the potential effects ofa proj ect to expand theSan Jose McEnery Convention Center, including demolition ofthe former MLK Main Library building. In April 2008, qualified historical consultants, Archives and Architecture, last revised the historical and architectural evaluation for the building. The attached evaluation states that the building exceeds the qualification threshold for City Landmark status (rating a 104 out of 134), but due to the age consideration for properties less than 50 years for the National

Register.ofHistoric Places and the California Register ofHistorical Resources . would not yet appear to qualify for these designations.

In the recent Valley Advocates v. City ofFresno Court ofAppeal decision (Feb. 15,2008), the court explained that a lead agency must presume a resource is a significant historical resource if it has been listed on'a local register or included in a local survey that meets specifiedcriteria, unless the preponderance ofevidence demonstrates otherwise. The Director ofPlanning is therefore forwarding this City Landmark nomination to the Historic Landmarks Commission for recommendation to the City Council in order to establish whether the former MLK Main Library would qualify as a presumptive City Landmark. .

ANALYSIS

Significance within Historic Context - Patterns ofCommunity Development

Historic contexts are the patterns and trends in history by which a specific occurrence, property, or site is understood and its meaning (~d' significance) within history or prehistory is made Historic Landmarks Commission - HL08-170 Former MLK Library City Landmark Nomination May 7,2008 Page 2

clear. A thorough understanding ofhistoric contexts is essential in evaluating resources that have achieved significance in the past 50 years. It is especially critical to identify the properties in a geographical area that portray the same values or associations and determine those that best illustrate or represent the architectural, cultural, or historical values being considered (National Register Bulletin 15).

The following information and analysis is included in the evaluation. The former MLK Main Library building is the oldest remaining public library built by the City of San Jose. Within the theme ofGovernment and Public Services, and the context oflibraries built during the City's Period ofIndustrialization and Suburbanization (1945-1991), the former Main Library has significance for being both a major library building constructed by the people ofSan Jose within a special municipal bond election, and as a distinguished structure constructed within the period ofrapid growth after World War II. It was the culmination ofa library expansion program that started in the late 1950s and is the signature building ofthat period ofgrowth in the development ofthe San Jose Public Library system.

The evaluation concludes that due to age considerations, it would be difficult to find that the building qualifies for the National Register ofHistoric Places (Criterion A) or the California Register ofHistorical Resources (Criterion a) under, San Jose's Preservation Ordinance, like many municipalities', provides City Landmark criteria tailored to the individual perspective of its local historians and citizens. The Ordinance language advises that although the Historic Landmarks Commission may consider the historical perspective ofage, the Commission shall initially consider eight primary factors, first among those being the local context and unique nature ofplaces that represent eras that have contributed to the City's culture in an important way.

Historic Resource Description

The following description is included in the evaluation. The building is centered on a pyramidal _skylight over a central atrium. The exterior incorporates patterns ofdeeply recessed and projecting elements that impart a complex, sculptural concrete form. The facades are arranged in three horizontal bands: a heavily glazed podium, supporting a cantilevered concrete center band, sheltered by a visually distinct top level. The two-story base is partly sunken below grade. A thin, cantilevered balcony divides the two levels; the balcony acts as the raised, main entry for the building. The base is set in on all sides from the upper levels, and its open character is primarily created by a regular series oflarge windows that appear as two-story arches. The painted concrete walls were cast against board forms, so they are roughly textured. The full­ height rib features housed reading carrels as part ofthe former library use. Each one projects in a square section that smoothly curves back into the main wall. A broad, flat roof deeply overhangs the recessed fourth floor window wall. The coffered soffit casts shadows on the exposed concrete surface ofthe lower walls. The building was originally planned as part ofa larger civic plaza. The library was intended to be the centerpiece ofan area similar to the 1960s Modem master -plan for Lincoln Center in New York City. Historic Landmarks Commission HL08-170 Former MLK Library City Landmark Nomination May 7, 2008 Page 3

Significance within Architectural Context

The evaluation states that "the former MLK Main Library building is a distinctive late-Brutalist design and fairly rare among larger civic, institution, and commercial buildings in the greater Bay Area. The design is consistent with this innovative type, was popular during the late 1960s both locally and across the United States, and is a prime example locally as a variant within the Second Bay Region style. Its distinction was recognized at the time ofconstruction, both for its construction techniques and the quality ofform, composition, and detailing. It is an excellent example ofa poured-in-place concrete building in San Jose, and is noteworthyfor its innovative approach to the design of a community library building - its visual appearance representative of both a contemporary design as well as respectful ofthe adjacent design ofthe Civic Auditorium."

San Jose has not completed a modem architectural historic context for the City; however, the evaluation outlines the international architectural context for the building. "In the early-to-Iate 1960s, one style ofModernist architecture utilized the repetitive formwork and organic qualities ofconcrete to create boldly sculptural building forms. Known as " Brutalist" -aterm that reportedly came from Le Corbusier and the French words for "raw concrete" -these designs were intended to act as bulky, unembellished backdrops for colorful and lively human activity and placed emphasis on the quality oflight and shadow created by patterns ofrecessed spaces." The term became popular when the British architectural critic Reyner Banham used it in the title ofhis 1954 book, ''New Brutalism", to identify the emerging style. Architecture form this period addressed minimalist Modernist objectives as well as late-Modernist interest in abstract sculptural form, exemplified in the work ofrenowned architect Louis Kahn. Historic Landmarks Commission HL08-170 Former MLK Library City Landmark Nomination May 7, 2008 Page 4

Swiss architect Le Corbusier's 1953 Secretariat American architect Paul Rudolph's 1963 building in Chandigarh, India is identified as the Yale Architectural Schoolhas corne to earliest example ofthe style, and exemplifies the signify a benchmark ofthe trend in sculptural possibilities ofconcrete forms. America

Bay Area Architect Mario Ciampi's 1970 Boston's 1968-70 Government Center by Berkeley Art Museum hovered above the ground Kallman McKinnell & Knowles, Paul and protruded up into battlement like walls. Rudolph and others

City Landmark Criteria The evaluation articulates the local architectural context for the former MLK Main Library building, noting that only a few large-scale examples ofthis style exist in the South Bay Area. Thereis a collection ofroughly formed concrete buildings at San Jose State University, including work by renowned California architect Ernest J. Kump (Alcalanes High School, Lafayette, 1939; San Jose Academy City Landmark, 1952; Foothill Junior College Campus, Los Altos Hills, 1961), and recognized local architects Alan Walters and John Plueger. This section ofthe evaluation addresses the Historic Preservation Ordinance criteria consideration ofcontext. The Ordinance clarifies that the factor ofage alone does not necessarily confer a special historical significance, but may especially be considered when few examples remain. This language allows the Historic Landmarks Commission to consider both especially old, albeit fairly vernacular, resources as well as relatively young but unique resources such as the Library building. Designated City Landmarks from the recent past range from the 1931 Art Deco . DeAnza Hotel, the 1934 Civic Auditorium, the c.1936 Orange Roadside Restaurant, the 1949 Historic Landmarks Commission HL08-170 Fonner MLK Library City Landmark Nomination May 7,2008 Page 5

modeme 99 Notre Dame IBM Building, the 1951 5-Spot Drive-In Restaurant, and the award­ winning mid-century modem 1952 San Jose Academy to the 1963 Antioch Baptist Church.

In making the findings that a proposed City Landmark Structure has special historical, architectural, cultural, aesthetic, or engineering interest or value ofan historical nature, the Commission may consider, among other relevant factors, the following (Historic Preservation Ordinance [Municipal Code Section 13.48.110]): (1) Its character, interest or value as part ofthe local, regional, state or national history, heritage or culture; (2) Its location as a site ofa significant historic event; (3) Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the local, regional, state or national culture and history; (4) Its exemplification ofthe cultural, economic, social or historic heritage ofthe city of San Jose; (5) Its portrayal ofthe environment of a group ofpeople in an era ofhistory characterized by a distinctive architectural style; (6) Its embodiment ofdistinguishing characteristics ofan architectural type or specimen; (7) Its identification as the work ofan architect or master builder whose individual work has influenced the development ofthe city of San Jose; (8) Its embodiment ofelements ofarchitectural or engineering design, detail, materials or craftsmanship which represents a significant architectural innovation or which is unique.

Based on the evaluation, the building would appear to qualify for City Landmark Structure status based on the following criteria from the Historic Preservation Ordinance.

1. Its character, interest, or value as part ofthe local, regional, state or national history, heritage, or culture as a post-World War II library built to house the primary circulation and reference collections ofthe City and to act as a primary symbol ofthe City's expanding library system during a period ofrapid growth when San Jose was the second fastest growing city in the nation; and 6. Its embodiment ofdistinguishing characteristics ofan architectural type or specimen, as a unique example oflocal institutional Brutalist design within the late-Modem architectural movement; with expressive, rough-textured concrete, boldly sculptural forms, and classically referential elements such as archways and tile bulkheads.

RECOMMENDATION

Historic Landmarks Commission forward a recommendation to the City Council to initiate proceedings to designate the fonner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Main Library building as a City Landmark Structure.

Sally NotthoffZamowiti:, AlA Historic Preservation Officer Attachments • Historic Report

HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL EVALUATION Former Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library Building 180 West San Carlos St. San Jose, Santa Clara County, California

Prepared for: LSA Associates, Inc. Attn: Hannah Young 2215 Fifth St. Berkeley CA 94710

Prepared by:

ARCHIVE,S & ARCHITECTURE Heritage Resource Partners, LLC

PO Box 1332 San Jose CA 95109 408.369.5683 408.228.0762 fax www.archivesandarchitecture.com

Leslie A.G. Dill, Architectural Historian Franklin Maggi, Preservation Planner Jessica Kusz, Associate Public Historian

Last Revised - April 21, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 Qualifications ofthe Consultants 4 1.2 Methodology 4 1.3 Survey Status 5 1.4 Summary ofFindings 5 1.5 Regional Location Map 7 1.6 Aerial View 8

2.0 HISTORICAL INFORMATION 9 2.1 Historic Context - Libraries in San Jose 10 2.2 Development ofthe Branch Library System 13 2.3 Planning the new Main Library in the post-war period 15 2.4 Constructing the new Main Library 19 2.5 Dedication Ceremonies on April 19, 1970 20 2.6 San Jose Main Library (1970-2003) 20 2.7 City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney (1907-1979) 21 2.8 Norton "Bud" Curtis (1921- ), Architect for the 1970 Main Library Building 22

3.0 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION 24 3.1 Design Context - Former San Jose Main Library building 24 3.2. Local Architectural Context 24 3.3 Detailed Description 25 3.4 Integrity and character-defining features 27

4.0 EVALUATION FOR SIGNIFICANCE 28 4.1. Regulatory and Policy Background 28 4.1.1 Criteria ofthe National Register ofHistoric Places 28 4.1.2 California Register ofHistorical Resources 28 4.1.3 City ofSan Jose Policies and Ordinance 30 4.1.3.1 San Jose 2020 General Plan Strategies and Policies 30 4.1.3.2 City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance 30 4.1.3.3 City ofSan Jose Evaluation Rating System 31 4.132.4 City of San Jose Council Policy on Preservation ofHistoric Landmarks 32 4.2 Evaluation 32 4.2.1 Significance within Historic Context - Patterns ofCommunity Development... 32 4.2.2 Significance Related to Historic Personages 33 4.2.3 Significance Related to Events 33 4.2.4 Significance Related to Architectural Distinction 33 4.3 Evaluation per the Criteria ofNational, State, and Local Criteria 34 4.4 Consistency with San Jose Policy on Preservation ofHistoric Landmarks 36

5.0 SOURCES OF INFORMATION 37

7.0 APPENDICES (DPR523 forms, Evaluation Rating Sheets, and Supplemental Documents) Historical and Architectural Evaluation Page 3 Fonner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Main Library building San Jose, California

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The City of San Jose is preparing an Initial Study to consider potential environmental effects ofa project to expand the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, located in the downtown area south of West San Carlos Street between South Market Street and Almaden Boulevard. The proposed project may include renovation ofthe convention facility, as well as expansions to the building to the north and south. The former Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, first opened in 1970 as the San Jose Main Library, is presently located to the immediate north ofthe convention center building and may be demolished as a part ofthe proposed project.

As a part ofpreparation ofthe Initial Study, this "Historical and Architectural Evaluation" presents the potential historical and architectural significance ofthe former library building. The purpose ofthis historic report is to provide findings regarding historical significance. The findings are intended to allow decision makers to consider fully the potential environmental effects ofthe proposed project which may be related to historic resources, and to adequately consider alternatives within the project design that may be necessary to protect any significant resources from demolition or substantial alteration.

The firm ofArchives & Architecture: Heritage Resource Partners, LLC of San Jose, California, prepared this document for the environmental firm ofLSA, Inc. ofBerkeley, California. LSA, Inc. is preparing the environmental documentation for the Redevelopment Agency ofthe City of San Jose. Work under this contract was conducted in November 2007 through March 2008 by Franklin Maggi and Leslie Dill, partners ofthe firm, along with consulting historian Jessica Kusz.

This report clarifies the historical status ofthe property and its associated site in terms oflocal, state, and national historical significance criteria. The property is identified as 180 West San Carlos St., San Jose, Santa Clara County, California. The Santa Clara County Assessor's Office lists the property as APN 264-29-097. It is owned by the City ofSan Jose.

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1.1 Qualifications of the Consultants

The principal author ofthis report, including the history and historical context was Franklin Maggi, Preservation Planner with the finn ofArchives & Architecture. Mr. Maggi is a professional historian who specializes in the field ofhistoric architecture and urban development, and who previously worked as a planner for the City of San Jose. He has a professional degree in architecture with an area ofconcentration in architectural history from the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley.

Leslie A. G. Dill, Architectural Historian, prepared the technical architectural descriptions and architectural context analysis for this report, as well as the evaluation for significance. Ms. Dill has a Master ofArchitecture with a certificate in Historic Preservation from the University ofVirginia. She is also a California-licensed architect, specializing in Preservation Architecture.

Assisting with the historic research ofthe property and the fonner library facility was Jessica Kusz, Association Public Historian. Ms. Kusz has an undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University ofNew Mexico, with a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute ofChicago.

The finn ofArchives & Architecture provides professional cultural resource management in the Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey County areas as well as the greater San Francisco Bay Area; the partnership serves public agencies, private businesses and individuals with technical historical resource services in the fields ofurban planning, community development, and archives management.

Ms. Dill and Mr. Maggi meet the Secretary ofthe Interior's qualifications to perfonn identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment activities within the field ofArchitectural Historian in compliance with state and federal environmental laws. The criteria are outlined in Code ofFederal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61, Appendix A.

1.2 Methodology

This historical and architectural evaluation is presented in report fonnat; attached are State of California DPR523 historic property recordation fonns that provide summary infonnation about the property within a standard recording fonnat, as well as supplementary photographs. Also attached are numerical historic evaluation rating sheets (see paragraph below), as developed by the City of San Jose. The DPR523 fonns were prepared in accordance with the most recent edition ofguidelines published by the California State Office ofHistoric Preservation Instructions for Recording Historical Resources.

The report was prepared according to the City of San Jose Guidelines for Historic Reports (City of San Jose rev. 1998 - Sections A. though F. and 1.). The rating sheets utilize specific historic evaluation criteria used to establish a hierarchy of significance. The numerical rating system was developed by Harold Kalman ofCanada in 1980, and adapted for local use in San Jose by the San Jose Landmarks Commission in 1989. The Director ofPlanning, Building, and Code Enforcement uses the numerical ratings to help detennine historic significance as a part of the City's environmental review process.

The fonner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library and related site were examined in December 2007 by Leslie Dill and Franklin Maggi. Notes on the architecture, characteristic features ofthe building, and local urban context were taken. Photographs ofthe exterior ofthe building and the

ARCHIVES & ARCHITECTURE Historical and Architectural Evaluation Page 5 Fonner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Main Library building San Jose, California related site were taken. Unlabeled photographs within this report and the DPR523 forms were taken digitally by Franklin Maggi during the site visit. The architectural description within this report was written based on the notes and photographs. Historical research was conducted by Franklin Maggi and Jessica Kusz and included visits to repositories oflocal historical source material, including the California Room at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. This report was prepared utilizing the methodology recommended by the National Park Service, as outlined in Preservation Briefs #17 ­ Architectural Character: IdentifYing the Visual Aspects ofHistoric Buildings as an Aidto Preserving Their Character (1988), and #35 - Understanding OldBuildings: The Process ofArchitectural Investigation (1994). National Register Bulletins were also consulted, including #15 - How to Apply the National Register Criteriafor Evaluation, #22 - Guidelinesfor Evaluating andNominating Properties That Have AchievedSignificance Within the Past Fifty Years, and #32 - Guidelinesfor Evaluating andDocumenting Properties Associated with Significant Persons.

Additionally, the City ofSan Jose Survey Handbook (Laffey 1992) and Historical Overview and Contextfor the City ofSan Jose (Laffey 1992) provided a local basis for the methodology used in this report.

1.3 Survey Status

The property is not listed on the San Jose Historic Resources Inventory, nor has it been recorded under any other local, state, and/or national historic resource listing. The San Jose Historic Resources Inventory was established by the San Jose City Council on March 18, 1986, under Resolution 58957. This action authorized the San Jose Historic Landmarks Commission to maintain the listing, adding and deleting specific properties as it deems appropriate (City of San Jose 1998).

Listing (or qualifYing for listing) in the San Jose Historic Resources Inventory would indicate that a property is, or potentially is, a historic resource. Within the land use and development planning processes ofthe City, projects involving historic resources receive careful scrutiny during the environmental review process in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

1.4 Summary of Findings

The property and associated former Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library building were evaluated for historical significance in Section 4 ofthis report. The former library building was found to have local cultural importance as an intact representation ofsignificant patterns ofcommunity development in San Jose's post-World War II Period ofIndustrialization and Suburbanization. Specifically, the building is locally important as a post-World War II library built to house the primary circulation and reference collections ofthe City ofSan Jose. The building acted as a primary symbol of San Jose's expanding library system during City's period ofrapid growth during the 1960s and 1970s-when San Jose was the second fastest growing city in the nation. The building has associations with the late City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney, a person who managed the library system for the City of San Jose from 1943 to 1970, and who was responsible for taking a San Jose centralized library system and its two sole consolidated branches at the beginning ofthe post-War period to the modern library system with nine branches by 1970. The building represents the culmination ofher career, as Nurney retired from City service within three months ofits dedication in 1970. The building also has ceremonial significance due to its renaming in 1990 in honor ofDr. Martin Luther King Jr. The memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has followed the library facility with its relocation to the joint San Jose State University/City ofSan Jose Library that is located on the university campus.

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The building is also distinguished within the context of San Jose and South Bay area architecture, as a Brutalist design by a prolific local architectural firm ofthe modem period, Norton S. Curtis & Associates. It was designed as a signature building ofits time, but with physical elements that drew inspiration from the nearby Spanish Eclectic Civic Auditorium complex. The auditorium had been designed three decades before by the architect's father, Earnest Curtis, ofthe firm ofBinder & Curtis Architects. As ofthe date it was opened in 1970, the l12,000-square-foot library was the City's largest public building project undertaken, and its poured-in-place concrete design was distinctive and easily recognizable within the downtown core. The building was intended to be an anchor ofthe proposed Kennedy Fine Arts Center, the first building ofa large master plan for local arts and culture. By the early 1970s, following the construction ofthis building and the Center for the Performing Arts, the master plan was abandoned.

It is the professional opinion ofthe consultants that the former Main Library building does not qualify for listing on either the California Register ofHistorical Resources, or the National Register of Historic Places, primarily because ofits age. The building does however, appear to qualify for designation as a San Jose City Historic Landmark, even though it is not 50 years old, as findings can be made that the designation is consistent with City policies involving the preservation ofhistoric resources, and the building meets the criteria for listing under the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance.

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1.5 Regional Location Map The subject property lies within the southerly portion ofthe San Jose Downtown Frame.

Partial USGS San Jose West / East composite, 1980 (photorevised).

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1.6 Aerial View

Fonner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library building is shown in the center of the photograph, directly above the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. Almaden Avenue was previously located directly to the left ofthe building and still extends as a pedestrian mall, to the northwest ofthe convention center, north of West San Carlos Street between McCabe Hall ofthe Civic Auditorium and the Crowne Plaza Hotel and parking garage (Google Earth).

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2.0 HISTORICAL INFORMATION

San Jose's six-story l12,000-square-foot library building, at 180 West San Carlos St. in the downtown, was formally closed in the summer of2003 as the library functions ofthis facility were relocated to the new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library building on the campus ofSan Jose State University at 150 East San Fernando St. The former library facility marked the fourth publicly owned building to house the City's downtown library, and was the sixth downtown library since the establishment of San Jose's first "free library" under municipal authority in 1880.

Planning for the six-story building, referred to in many accounts ofthe day as the "Central Library," began formally in 1961 when a library bond measure was approved by San Jose voters. The building was completed and opened to the public in April of 1970 almost nine years later. It was dedicated as the San Jose "Main Library," its name reflecting a rapidly expanding branch library system that had begun to evolve in the late 1950s within San Jose's period ofrapid Industrialization and Suburbanization 1 following World War II. By the time that it was rededicated in 1990 as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, it had developed both as the City's largest library, holding a number of special collections, and as the operational headquarters ofa large branch system with cooperative agreements with other local library systems. Within this library began the City's sophisticated computer systems that now provide an online catalog as well as patron-access to libraries and databases across the United States and the World Wide Web.

The dedication ofthe Main Library building on April 19, 1970 was attended by about 350 persons and included a keynote address by George M. Mardikian, owner ofOmar Khayyam's restaurant in San Francisco and Chairman ofthe State Citizen's Committee for National Library Week in 1970. The ceremonies marked the culmination ofthe career ofCity Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney who, during her thirty-eight year career with the City ofSan Jose, built the metropolitan branch library system that is known today as the San Jose Public Library.

The present library system has continued to evolve, and now consists of21 branches and a joint public main and college library in partnership with San Jose State University. The relocation oflibrary operations out ofthe subject building in 2003 to the campus ofSan Jose State University has removed its "active and functional" significance as both the visual and tangible center oflibrary services.

The following sections provide historic context for the construction ofthe 1970 Main Library. It includes the historical development oflibraries in San Jose, early evolution of the branch system, the planning ofthe library and related Kennedy Fine Arts Center in the post-War period, and dedication of and use ofthe library in the 1970s and later. Additional information is provided on City Librarian Gerald L. Nurney, and architect Norton S. Curtis. The historical section does not provide detailed information on the history ofthe site prior to building ofthe library building, as the site was almost totally excavated in the late 1960s as a part ofthe construction project for the new library.

I San Jose's has six historic periods, as defined in the City's official "Historic Context Statement," prepared by the late historian Glory Anne Laffey in 1992.

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2.1 Historic Context - Libraries in San Jose

San Jose's first municipal library and, thus, the beginning ofthe San Jose Public Library system, was established by City ordinance in 1880 during San Jose's period ofHorticultural Expansion. It was created under California's 1878 Rogers Act which enabled cities and counties to establish tax­ supported public libraries. The library collection ofthe private non-profit San Jose Library Association was transferredto the City ofSan Jose in 1880 to become a "free library" open to the public, first located in rented space in what was then the Murphy Building (see photo bottom ofpage) on the northeast comer of South Market and Post Streets (no longer extant). The official opening was on August 10, 1880. The first librarian was William Redding (Vermillion 1968).

Prior to establishment ofthe free library, the Library Association had been operating a subscription­ based library since July 12, 1872, when it first incorporated. Its book collection had its origins in the earlier YMCA library that was located in the Messing Building at 378 First Street (recently 79-81 South First St. - partially destroyed by fire in the 1989s and demolished in 2006), opening in the summer of 1867. The YMCA reading library was located in an l8-by-24 foot upstairs meeting room, above the Messing saddle and harness-making shop. The books at that time were in the custody ofthe 2 local chapter ofthe Sons ofTemperance Lodge, and consisted ofmore than seven hundred volumes .

By 1871, the YMCA was in financial straits, and the library was threatened with closure. On April 3, 1871, San Jose Mayor Adolph Pfister called for the establishment ofa public library and offered $1000 to initiate a fundraising campaign. It was not until the following year. that local public advocacy, spearheaded by the San Jose Mercury, forced a decision about the establishment ofthe first 3 publicly accessible library. The YMCA library had by then moved to the Newhall Block , and in early 1872, was moved again to the Bank ofSan Jose building at First and Santa Clara Streets. Mayor Pfister had urged the YMCA to operate the library on a non-sectarian basis, but the YMCA board was unwilling to change its constitution to allow operation ofthe library in this way (Peck 1992).

The two-story Murphy Building cl865 was at the northeast corner ofMarket and Post Streets, in the upper right corner of this photo

In June 1872, the San Jose Library Association was formed, and in the next two months the new association negotiated successfully with the YMCA to transfer their collections-eonsisting of about 800 books the Association deemed "desirable"-and related furnishings. The new subscription-based library and reading room moved to an upstairs room across from the YMCA headquarters, in what was then the Knox Block at the northwest comer ofSanta Clara and First Streets, whert:: it remained for eight years. For four years during this time, San Jose Mayor Pfister donated his salary of $1612.62, and along with other

2 Reading rooms had appeared in San Jose as early as 1854 with the Union Free Reading room; it was followed by one sponsored by the Agriculturalist. These were social centers established so young men would not be tempted by liquor and gambling. The creation of the YMCA and its reading room in 1867, administered by Temperance Lodge, followed this tradition. The YMCA acquired 125 books from an earlier reading room (Hook 1968).

3 It has not been determined where the Newhall Block was located. This building does not show up in early city directories nor the first Sanborn Fire Insurance maps published in 1884.

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4 contributions, the collection grew . Volunteers provided staffing services. Judge D. S. Payne, who had been one ofthe founders ofthe YMCA, served as the first president ofthe library association. (Peck 1992)

The Hagan Building as it generally exists today on the south side ofEast Santa Clara St. It was recently renovated under a fayade grant from the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

Two years after the official 1880 opening ofthe new free public library in the Murphy Building, the collection was transferred to the circa-1870 Hagan Building at 368 Santa Clara St. (since re­ addressed as 82 East Santa Clara St. and also called Pfister Building - see photo above) where it remained for about 7 years. The Library Committee of the City ofSan Jose had considered four offers for relocation sites, including Washington Hall, the Murphy Building, Stock and Porter's Hall (adjacent to the Messing Building) on First Street, and Germania Hall (the Hagan Building). James Hagan was an importer ofplumbing and gas fittings and fixtures and occupied part ofthe first floor of his building. Mrs. Hagan was responsible for the remodeling ofthe rooms for the library, and the association paid $20.00 per month rent after the library's move from the Murphy Building in October 1882 (Vermillion 1968). While the library was in this location, in about 1885, the Lodge ofthe International Order ofOdd Fellows built the adjacent three-story building at the southwest comer of Santa Clara and Third Streets. In 1887, Agnes Berry took over as City Librarian from William Redding. Sometime later, following the next move ofthe public library in 1889, the Hagan and Odd Fellow Buildings were merged part ofthe structure now known as Coca's Furniture. Both these buildings are extant today, and the Hagan Building remains the oldest site that physically represents of the history ofthe free public library system.

The first City-owned location ofthe library­ the 1889 City Hall

In 1889, following the completion of San Jose's 1880s City Hall in Market Plaza, the library under Librarian Nellie Egan relocated again and established its new home on the second floor. It remained there until it moved to its own, new Carnegie Library Building at Washington Square in 1903. In 1901, Andrew Carnegie5 donated $50,000 to the City ofSan Jose to construct a new public library building. It was dedicated on June

4 Twenty life memberships were initially secured at $25 each. Local women then held an elaborate tea-party and over 300 annual and monthly members were secured, followed by a large party at San Jose's Music Hall that raised additional funds. 5 Andrew Carnegie was a philanthropist who had amassed a large fortune by building a cartel that became U. S. Steel. Through his Carnegie Foundation, he contributed over $41 million for the construction of 1,649 library buildings to be used as "free public libraries" ofwhich 1,412 were in the United States. In California, 142 buildings were constructed; designed mainly by local architects, but reflecting similar classical features. In San Jose, local architect William Binder, who would later enter into a partnership with Ernest Curtis, was commissioned to prepare plans for the Carnegie Library building. The contractor was Frederick A. Curtis, father ofErnest Curtis and grandfather ofNorton S. Curtis, who designed the 1970 main library building almost 70 years later.

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1, 1903 under librarian Mary Barnby, who took over the position from Nellie Egan in 1900. The building faced San Fernando Street at South Fourth Street and was designed by local architect William Binder (Vermillion 1968). A second, small Carnegie Library was built locally just after the construction of San Jose's Carnegie Library in the then-separate community ofEast San Jose in 1907.

San Jose's Carnegie Library

Four years later, in 1911, Nell McGinley took 6 over as librarian • She headed the library system until 1917 when Charles F. Woods became librarian (Vermillion 1968).

By the beginning ofthe Interwar Period, 1919-1945, San Jose's population had doubled, and the expansion ofthe downtown library was considered necessary to keep pace with the growing needs ofthe populace. With the library housing 30,000 volumes, in 1921 librarian Charles F. Woods attempted to obtain funds to expand the Carnegie Library but his proposal was rejected. Charles F. Woods remained librarian until 1923, when replaced by Edith Daley, who remained in the position for twenty years. The Carnegie Library building was eventually vacated in 1937 when the City ofSan Jose sold the building to the State ofCalifornia for $55,000. The Carnegie Library building was re-used as a student union at San Jose State College, known as the "Coop" until demolished to make way for the Walquist Library in the late 1950s (Douglas 1993).

In 1937 the San Jose Public Library, headed by Librarian Edith Daley, moved for what was intended to be an interim stay, into the San Jose Post Office building at South Market and West San Fernando Streets-the present-day site ofthe San Jose Museum ofArt. The Post Office had by then moved to its new building on North First Street, and the City ofSan Jose used $50,000 ofthe proceeds from the sale ofthe Carnegie Library building to acquire the property from the United States Postal Service. The remodeling cost $86,000 with financing assistance from the Works Progress Administration.

In 1943, Geraldine Nurney took over as Head Librarian, during a period when a new political leadership was beginning to plan the development ofSan Jose in anticipation ofthe post-War era. The library remained at its fifth publicly operated location until 1970 when relocated to the new Main Library building at 180 West San Carlos St.

Old Post Office building on Market Plaza in the late 1930s.

6 During Nell McGinley's tenure as Librarian, in 1916 the City ofSan Jose voted in a new City Charter. The Charter formally established a Board ofLibrary Trustees with general powers to manage and control the public library. Included was the power to appoint the Librarian and hire employees. A new Charter Amendment in 1940 placed the employees under Civil Service.

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2.2 Development of the Branch Library System

By the mid-1930s, the library system in San Jose consisted only ofthe Carnegie libraries in the downtown and in the neighborhood ofEast San Jose, although a spate ofbranches had opened and closed over the prior quarter ofa century. The town ofEast San Jose had been consolidated into the City ofSan Jose in 191 I-the San Jose Public Library took over operation ofthe 1907 East San Jose Carnegie Library at 1102 East Santa Clara St. at that time. In 1936, the consolidation ofthe town of Willow Glen into the City ofSan Jose brought into San Jose its second permanent branch library.

The branch library system in San Jose had its origin in 1909 when the initial branch was established on November 5 in Grant School on Empire Street in the Second Ward northeast ofthe downtown. When the East San Jose Carnegie Library became part ofthe San Jose Free Public Library, due to consolidation ofEast San Jose in 1911, the City operated two branches, with efforts underway to open an additional branch in the Fourth Ward southwest ofthe downtown. This third branch was subsequently established in 1914 at 241 Balbach St.; the local school board furnished the building that also served as a kindergarten in the mornings. It opened on August 10, 1914 (Hook 1968). During this period about six satellite branches were established in local schools (San Jose Mercury Herald 8/12/1917). A fire temporarily closed Grant School in 1917, and when rebuilt, it did not include the branch library. The 1917 Grant School building was demolished in the 1960s and replaced with the building complex that exists today. A branch library was reestablished at the early school site after halfa century. The school site now contains the Joyce Ellington Branch Library building (under re­ construction in Spring 2008 as a part ofthe present library expansion program).

With insufficient city funding to operate the branches by World War I, this early branch system faded away (the Balbach Street branch was closed in 1918). The East San Jose Library remained the only branch library to operate during the Interwar Perioduntil the consolidation ofWillow Glen in 1936.

Following World War II, San Jose went through a period ofrapid suburban expansion. A recession after the war was soon followed by accelerated growth in the early 1950s, with the population increasing between 1950 and 1975 from 95,000 to over 500,000 residents. During this same period, the city limits began to expand out from the Original City and the expansion neighborhoods that had previously developed along The Alameda, in Willow Glen, and in East San Jose. The city grew to over 120 square miles by 1970 (Laffey 1992). This period ofgrowth during the Cold War era was not unlike what was happening in other "sunbelt" cities, although by 1960 the city had gained the reputation ofthe second fastest growing city in the nation. This suburbanization ofthe biggest city in Santa Clara County has been largely attributed to the appointment ofAnthony P. (Dutch) Hamann as City Manager in 1950, but the origins ofthis pro-growth approach to city management had its roots in the mid-1940s. At that time a reformist coalition gained a majority on the San Jose City Council. The coalition, the Citizen's Planning Council ofGreater San Jose, was considering long-range goals for the decades after the war.

During World War II (1943-1944), the Library Department, under the direction ofnew City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney, conducted a functions and services survey under the umbrella ofthe Citizen's Planning Council ofGreater San Jose. The Planning Council's post-war report in 1946 included the conclusion that the City's libraries did not conform to American Library Association standards. Along with the focus on library quality, one of the key objectives at that time was to update obsolete city equipment and buildings (Firth 1967).

Prior to the 1949 construction ofthe Willow Glen Branch Library at 1157 Minnesota Ave. (recently demolished), the effort to maintain a branch in Willow Glen and remedy deficiencies ofthe old

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Willow Glen Library on Lincoln Avenue went forward contemporaneously with efforts to build a new branch in San Jose's "Westside," now know as the Rosegarden District, which had been annexed into the city during the 1920s. The expansion ofthe branch system did not actually begin until the late 1950s, however, due to indecision about the final location for the Rosegarden Branch (Firth 1967).

With the downtown library and the two branches in Willow Glen and East San Jose unable to meet adequately the needs ofthe expanding populace after World War II, voters were asked to approve bond measures to fund construction ofnew branch libraries. The first successful bond measure was approved in 1957; it funded three new branches and a remodeling ofthe Willow Glen Branch Library.

The 1957 bond measure provided funds for the expansion ofthe Willow Glen Branch Library building and also included funding for three new branches. These included (with opening dates and architects):

• Rosegarden Branch Library (1960) - Higgins & Root • Cambrian Branch Library (1961) Kress & Winston - remodeled in the 1980s • West Valley Branch Library (1964) Alan Walters & Associates

Soon after, in 1961, an additional bond measure provided funding to continue to construct a new downtown "central" library (the subject building), and to expand the branch system. The bond provided $3,704,000, and added three more branches:

• Hillview Branch Library (1965) Hedley, James, & Associates • Calabazas Branch Library (1966) - Conrad Stieber & Associates • Seventrees Branch Library (1967) - Goodwin Steinberg

A third bond measure in 1966 included the construction ofthe Berryessa Branch Library. Construction began in 1967 at the same time as San Jose's new downtown library, and the branch openedin 1968. Designed by the firm ofKress and Winston, it was the last new branch building built during this post­ World-War-II growth era prior to the opening ofthe new Main Library (Firth 1967).

By the time the San Jose Public Library moved into its new facility at 180 West San Carlos St. in 1970, one more library had been added to the branch system. The Alviso library was installed in the former Alviso City Hall following consolidation ofthe Town ofAlviso into San Jose in 1968.

Following the construction ofthe downtown facility, additional branches were built in outlying suburban areas that experienced growth in the later part ofthe twentieth century, beginning with the Almaden and Edenvale (Pearl Avenue) Branch Libraries in 1971. In 1976 Evergreen and Educational Park Branch Libraries opened, funded by the newly adopted Construction and Conveyance Tax. Biblioteca Latinoamericana Branch Library was opened that same year at Sacred Heart Church south of downtown; the branch was relocated two years later to what had been a part ofthe Woodrow Wilson, Jr. High School building complex in the downtown frame, funded under a California State Library grant. In 1977 the Empire Branch Library (now Joyce Ellington Branch Library-and site of the first branch at Grant School in 1909) was built using federal revenue-sharing funds. Santa Teresa Branch Library joined the Pearl Avenue Branch Library in the Edenvale area in 1984, also funded with the Construction and Conveyance Tax (Firth 1967).

In 1994, San Jose voters approved an advisory vote to form a citywide special Library Benefit Assessment District. Following relocation ofAlviso and Biblioteca Latinoamericana Branch Libraries to new buildings in 1999, voters approved a 2000 bond measure for capital improvements providing

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$212 million over ten years for six new and fourteen expanded branch libraries. All ofthe branches except the above two and East Branch have since been demolished and replaced as a part ofthe bond program. Also in 2000, the City ofSan Jose and San Jose State University broke ground on a new joint city/university library to replace the City's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and the University's Walquist and Clark Libraries. In 2003 the new facility opened at the site ofthe original 1903 San Jose Carnegie Library, and the University demolished Walquist Library. The former King Library building on West San Carlos Street is currently being used as City offices.

2.3 Planning the new Main Library in the post-war period

Prior to construction ofthe library building at 180 West San Carlos St., the San Jose Public Library operated in the converted 1898 Main Post Office building at South Market and West San Fernando Streets. At that location since 1937, it was intended to be a temporary location, with an expected residency ofabout 10-15 years, although the library remained for 33 years. Only a portion ofthe building, about 22,000 square feet, was allocated for library use.7

The downtown Main Library that opened in 1970 on West San Carlos Street was designed by Norton S. Curtis & Associates, and took nine years to plan, design, and build following the initial funding authorization by the San Jose voters in 1961. The library was funded by the 1961 bond measure and a 1965 federal grant.

This late 1960s aerial photograph shows the Park Center Redevelopment Project area with most ofthe land cleared for development. The Main Library is under construction in the upper center.

7 At the Spring 1937 opening ofthe South Market Street library, City Manager Clarence B. Goodwin predicted a short stay, hypothesizing that a new library would soon be constructed in concert with a new civic center, and that the old Federal Post Office building would become the site ofa central fire station.

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The 1961 bond measure coincided with the establishment ofthe Park Center Redevelopment Project in the downtown core on Oct. 19, 1961. Park Center was the first major redevelopment project to be undertaken following the creation ofthe San Jose Redevelopment Agency in 1957. Plans for a new library in the downtown were included in the Park Center Urban Renewal Area Plan, a project covering 21.8 acres that were acquired and cleared in the area that is roughly bounded by West San Carlos, South Market, West San Fernando and West Santa Clara Streets, and Vine - east ofthe Guadalupe River. In the original plan, the library was to be constructed at the northwest comer of West San Carlos Street and what was then Almaden Avenue. By 1965, time constraints imposed by supplementary funding for the library project ruled out location ofthe new library in the Park Center project area, and an alternative location was pursued within the State chartered Guadalupe-Auzerais Redevelopment Project area along West San Carlos Street. Guadalupe-Auzerais is roughly bounded by Highway 87, Almaden Ave, Viola Avenue, and West San Carlos Street. The original site planned for the library was eventually developed with a Holiday Inn, which exists today as the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Following funding approval in 1961 for a new downtown library, in March of 1963, the City leadership, led by City Manager Dutch Hamann, developed a concept for a new Metropolitan Fine Arts Center south and west ofthe Civic Auditorium. The San Jose City Council approved the concept for inclusion within the Guadalupe-Auzerais Redevelopment Project area later, in 1963. The cultural center was planned to include a new library, a new memorial theater, a new museum, and off-street parking to serve the library and the adjacent expanded Civic Auditorium. The new west wing ofthe Civic Auditorium was dedicated and named Jay McCabe Hall in mid-1963.s The new four-block cultural center was to be bounded by Park Avenue and Market, Auzerais and Vine Streets. The cultural center was planned to complement Park Center Plaza, a project which at that time was still undergoing site acquisition and demolition.

In September of 1963, the San Jose City Council approved an architectural competition to design this new cultural center. Two months later, architect John Carl Warnecke was awarded the project, which was negotiated and recommended by City Manager Hamann. The sole-source design selection was to include a complete plan along with a landscape plan and preliminary designs for the cultural center for $14,000, and a model and brochure for the 1964 theater bond issue for another $6,000, at a cost that was less than the anticipated cost ofthe competition itself. The November 26,1963 City Council meeting also included a decision to name the cultural center as a memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy. It was noted that the cultural center was already underway, as funding from the 1961 library bond had targeted a new downtown library near the Civic Auditorium.

By April 1964, the San Jose Library Board ofTrustees approved the location ofthe new library as shown in the Kennedy Fine Arts Center master plan. By then the site was identified as the block west ofthe Civic Auditorium within the Park Center redevelopment project area. With funding not yet established for the cultural center build-out, the trustees declared that, regardless ofthe other plans, the library should be built "with or without the cultural center." The master plan by John Carl Warnecke & Associates at that time included elimination ofAlmaden Avenue through the new proposed superblock, and depression ofWest San Carlos Street. The proposed "Memorial Theater" was to be located at the southwest comer of South Market and West San Carlos Streets.

8 McCabe Hall was part ofthe development ofa "convention center," and included new meeting rooms in the Civic Auditorium. The construction ofParkside Hall to the rear ofthe Civic Auditorium in the 1970s built upon this master plan­ the complex serving the convention industry until the San Jose Convention Center was opened in 1989.

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In December of 1964, the search began for an architect to design the new library building, budgeted at $2,000,000. By t~en, the planned site had been changed to the south side ofWest San Carlos Street, south ofthe Civic Auditorium. City Manager Hamann appointed a five-member architectural screening committee composed ofa councilmember, a library board member, a planning commissioner, a representative ofthe manager's office and the City Librarian Geraldine Nurney. Hamann recommended a fee of 6.5 percent ofthe cost ofthe building for the architect.

Proceeds from the 1961 library bond measure were not adequate for the project, and financing was not complete for the new library project until the City ofSan Jose and City ofSanta Clara joined in a cooperative library services agreement to help each city qualify for over 1.1 million dollars in federal library construction funds that were to be distributed by the State ofCalifornia. The cooperative agreement was not without controversy, with San Jose City Attorney Ferdinand Palla advising against the pact. The agreement covered such things as selection ofbooks, lending materials, exchange of reference works and acquisition ofbooks and films, and had the support of City Librarian Geraldine Nurney and the Library Board ofTrustees. This arrangement was intended to give the two cities an edge over other jurisdictions seeking grants for library construction funds under the Library Services and Construction Act of 1964. The City of Sunnyvale was included in the final reciprocal library agreement with the City ofSan Jose and City of Santa Clara. Schematic drawings were required to qualify for this special federal funding, and therefore, selection ofan architect was crucial. The cooperative library system, called the Camino Real System, was eventually expanded in September of 1974 with a merger with Santa Clara County and Mountain View library systems.

On February 23, 1965, the San Jose City Council selected Norton S. Curtis & Associates to prepare 9 the schematic drawings for the new library building at a cost of$30,000 • The firm was one ofthree interviewed in the final screening process. The other two were John Carl Warnecke ofSan Francisco, and Higgins and Root ofLos Gatos. Newspapers at that time indicate that Curtis "made a very attractive offer" to Hamann regarding the cost for the fmal design. lo

On May 24, 1965, with the architect selected and schematic drawings completed, State Librarian Carmen R. Leigh notified the City of San Jose that approval had been granted by the State of California for a $1 million grant for the new downtown library. It was one ofthe first and largest grants awarded under this federal legislation. The Library Services and Construction Act of 1964 was established to provide federal assistance to libraries in the United States by improving or implementing library services or completing construction projects. The key goal ofthe Act was to provide funding for underserved and/or disadvantaged communities in need oflibrary services.

At the time when the architect was selected for the new library project, the San Jose City Council had already chosen the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (Taliesin Architects) to design the community theater for the new cultural center, over John Carl Warnecke. The future Center for the Performing Arts would eventually be built in its planned site north ofWest San Carlos Street adjacent the Guadalupe River, but by July of 1965 the site for the new main library was formally changed when the.

9 The City ofSanta Clara selected internationally renowned Edward Durell Stone. The Stone-designed library in Santa Clara was demolished in late 2001.

10 It is believed, but could not be documented, that the inspiration for the functional design came from the 1960 Seattle Central Library design by Leonard Bindon and John L. Wright. The Seattle Library had similar conveniences as the San Jose Central Library design, including escalators and state-of-the-art air conditioning. That public library was demolished in 2001 to make way for a new Seattle Public Library constructed in 2004.

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Planning Commission approved the present site within the Guadalupe-Auzerais Redevelopment ProJect· area11 .

Acquisition ofland for the new site south ofWest San Carlos Street across from the Civic Auditorium included four parcels with standing structures. The City of San Jose agreed to pay $150,000 for a l7,945-square-foot parcel at 180 West San Carlos St., and $42,700 for a 9,650-square-foot parcel at 157 Auzerais Ave. Acquisition ofthe other two parcels was more difficult. Both went to court over the issue ofeminent domain. In 1966, a seven-day trial over the price for the property at 376 Almaden Ave. resulted in a negotiated settlement price of $69,198 to be paid to Gordon and Barbara Keith for their dance studio and printing press property. In 1967, the City ofSan Jose won a Superior Court case to acquire the last piece ofproperty needed for the new library. Owned by Nellie Isom, it consisted of a parcel 7,500 square feet in size, which contained an older two-story wood-frame house.

With the site under City ownership and plans completed in April 1967, Geraldine Nurney, City Librarian, submitted the construction plans ofNorton S. Curtis & Associates to the State Division of Architecture in Sacramento for final approval. The project went out to bid in May with more than 70 contractors receiving copies ofthe plans.

On August 2, 1967, bids were opened. With eight firms bidding, Jasper Construction Company of Santa Cruz submitting the lowest bid of $ 2,965,880. Other bids ranged as high as $ 3,332,000. In the afternoon ofAugust 2, Werner Jasper (owner of Jasper Construction Company) sent a telegram to the City of San Jose indicating that the company wanted to withdraw its bid due to computation errors. The second-lowest bid was $3,060,000 from the local Carl N. Swenson Company. On August 15, Jasper Construction Company was allowed to withdraw its bid and the job was awarded to Carl N. Swenson Company. The Swenson base bid did not include 'deductible' items such as escalators ($107,000), carpeting ($50,000) and automatic air conditioning controls ($13,000).

San Jose Mercwy-News photo ofgroundbreaking

Later that month the San Jose City Council, after much controversy and debating, decided to include the 'deductible' items in the construction. On September 25, 1967 a groundbreaking ceremony included presentations by members ofthe City Council, City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney, and various representatives from the State ofCalifornia. The San Jose Mercwy-News heralded the groundbreaking for its significance as the first major public building in the renewal ofthe downtown and saw the future Main Library as a means oftying together a sprawling metropolitan city. At that time, the Center for Performing Arts was under construction, and plans were still in the works for relocating City Hall downtown, planned at that time for the area west ofthe Civic Auditorium where

ii The change was made necessary by the higher costs of land on the South Market Street side, as well by time constraints. To qualify for the $1 million in federal library grant funds, the city ofSan Jose had to begin construction in mid-1966. Acquisition ofland at the original site was too costly and time consuming; therefore, the alternate site was chosen to expedite the project.

ARCHIVES & ARCHITECTURE Historical and Architectural Evaluation Page 19 Fonner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Main Library building San Jose,California the Crowne Plaza Hotel parking garage sits today. Although Park Center Plaza was not yet under construction, planning was underway for San Antonio Plaza to rejuvenate a part ofthe central business district and tie San Jose State College into the heart ofthe city.

At the time ofits construction, the Main Library building was the largest public building project to be undertaken by the City ofSan Jose, with 112,000 square feet, served by a freight elevator and two public l'llevators along with a two story escalator system capable ofcarrying 5,000 passengers a day. It was the first building to be constructed in what was still then called the Kennedy Fine Arts Center.

2.4 Constructing the new Main Library

By October of 1967, 30,000 cubic yards ofdirt were removed for the foundation ofthe building creating a 30-foot deep hole. In November, Carl N. Swenson's crews laid the foundation, which took 18 hours and used 40-50 workers for the 137 x 179-foot reinforced concrete foundation. They poured 3000 cubic yards ofconcrete approximately 3-112 feet thick. By March 1968, the arches were being completed with wooden frames and the 'state-of-the-art' air conditioning system was being installed. By July, the interior lighting was installed and finishes were being made to the interior ofthe building. In October, they had reached more than the halfway point on the building and by the next year, in February 1969, all the buildings walls were completed. They had been created with a single form that was re-used to build the 28 different wall sections.

The building program at the time ofconstruction included 112,000 square feet with four above-ground floors and two basement levels. A circular exterior ramp was designed to lead to the main floor which was raised five feet above ground level, and the upper basement was set in a sunken landscaped patio area. The upper basement housed the children's library and story-telling rooms, stacks, a meeting room for 300 persons, a sorting room, audio-visual facilities, and a branch book-circulation room. On the first floor was the main reading room with general circulation desks, popular reading materials, and a young-adult section. The two intermediary floors were allocated for stacks including the separate California Room, and the top floor dedicated to offices, technical services and library operations. The sub-basement area contained storage area and mechanical equipment.

The library project in late 1969. Almaden Avenue is to the right, which was closed in the late 1970s

On December 31, the library at the old Post Office building began the move to the new library building. The library collections were moved under the guidance ofGeraldine L. Nurney, who had proven to be the strong force in the realization and construction ofthe new Main Library. The library was moved in three phases over three months, its final phase being completed just a few days before the dedication.

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2.5 Dedication Ceremonies on April 19, 1970

In January 1970, the building was formally accepted by the City ofSan Jose. On April 19, 1970 the new Main Library was completed and dedicated. The library building initially housed 200,000 books that were relocated from the South Market Street library building, with a planned expansion to 500,000 volumes within six years ofopening. The $4.7 million building (included land purchase) was dedicated with about 350 people in attendance (see image below). Along with City of San Jose's new City Manager Thomas W. Fletcher and City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney, the keynote address was given by George M. Mardikian, owner ofOmar Khayyam's restaurant in San Francisco. Mardikian was Chairman ofthe State Citizen's Committee for National Library Week and reportedly an ardent spokesman for Americanism and supporter ofyouth. He was well known as an advocate for public libraries as a means ofeducation for disadvantaged youth. With the new library came a new City Librarian, as Geraldine L. Nurney retired on June 1, 1970 (see biography next page - Section 2.7).

Carol Moss filled in as Acting City Librarian until City Manager Thomas W. Fletcher hired Homer L. Fletcher in August 1970. Homer Fletcher had previously worked in Vallejo since 1965 and assumed the position on October 1, 1970. A graduate ofIndiana University and the University of Illinois, he had previously worked in California in Arcadia, and Ashland, Ohio. Fletcher remained City Librarian until 1990.

Library dedication ceremonies, April 19, 1970

2.6 San Jose Main Library (1970-2003)

At the time that the new Main Library was opened, the City ofSan Jose had nine operating branch libraries with seven additional branches in the planning stages. At some point by the 1970 dedication, the name "Central Library" was abandoned and "Main Library" became the formal name.

Subsequently, it was known unofficially as ~"t.,,'l" '{." just "Main." Although the use ofthe 'Of", • adjective "main" had been used previously in reference to the library in the old Post Office building, the formal use ofthe term remained until 1990. The name Main Library reflected a change in function for the downtown library; the headquarters ofa growing decentralized branch library system with administrative and circulation functions were headquartered in the new six-story facility.

The new Main Library in the early 1970s

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This new library "hub," besides containing department offices and a commission meeting room, provided technical service areas for system-wide functions such as general circulation, cataloguing, and by 1975, computerization. The Main Library building was also host to special collections such as the California Room, audio-visual media, and reference services. 12

During the 1970s, the Library Department under Homer Fletcher began the computerization of information access that continues into the present. In 1974, with the support ofa grant from Lockheed Corporation, Dialogue terminals were instituted at Main Library for searching nationwide bibliographic databases. These databases evolved into Online Reference Services with a grant from the National Science Foundation that initially allowed Dialog searching to the public at no cost. In 1976, computer circulation equipment was purchased that automated the cataloging process, encoding of material, and for Interlibrary Loan. By 1985, an online reference unit was formed at Main Library and for the first time searching using a personal computer was possible. Eight years later, the Main Library entered the World Wide Web with Internet access and the end to fee-based searching within the reference services unit.

In late 1988, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association ofSan Jose had begun looking for a memorial to Dr. King and the civil rights movement. They considered a park in Berryessa, San Jose Medical Center, San Jose International Airport, and the San Jose's Main Library. The library was the first choice, and in February 1989 the San Jose City Council, under then-Mayor Tom McEnery, voted to dedicate the building in his honor, and allocated $25,000 for the renaming ceremony that took place on January 11, 1990, and acquisition ofmaterials from the National Archives and the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia for a new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. section ofthe library's second floor. The exhibit documented Dr. King, his life, and local Bay Area people who were involved in the civil rights movement. The building was renovated prior to the dedication; the concrete exterior painted a light yellow to match the color ofthe Civic Auditorium complex across the street.

2.7 City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney (1907­ 1979)

Born Geraldine Latham in Toledo Ohio, in 1918, Nurney moved with her family to Sacramento and attended schools there through junior college. She received her Bachelor ofArts in economics in 1930 from the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley, and her teaching credential and library certification in 1931 from San Jose State College.

From The Builders ofOur Valley, 1957

12 The Main Library also included ~pace for the recently acquired David E. McDaniel Collection-the basement-level meeting room was dedicated the McDaniel Room in his honor. David E. McDaniel was a library patron who in 1967, when constructed started, donated to the San Jose Public Library his collection (valued then at $100,000) ofbooks, sheet music, records, and autographs, and letters from famous authors.

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In 1931-1932 she served as coordinator ofthe school reading program and librarian in the Coronado Schools. She returned to San Jose to marry and began her career as a librarian with the City of San Jose in 1932. She was a children's librarian for 10 years before being appointed City Librarian in 1943.

One ofthe first initiatives with which she was involved during the mid-1940s was the City's first library services functions and needs assessment. The assessment was done as a part ofthe Citizen's Planning Council ofGreater San Jose, which published a report in 1946 that included the conclusion that the City's libraries did not conform to American Library Association standards. This focus on library quality first evolved under Numey as an expansion program ofbranch libraries in city neighborhoods. The intent was to make library services more available to San Jose's rapidly expanding populace. Her first project was construction ofa replacement library for the Willow Glen Branch, which the City had operated out ofrented quarters since consolidating the community of Willow Glen in 1936. She designed the community event in Willow Glen that took place on January 4, 1949 in which 314 students from the Willow Glen School staged a "March ofBooks." The children were given numbers and armloads ofbooks at the old library and marched in a long line to the new library, placing the books on the shelves in order - as librarians. The idea ofpartnering with the Fire Department-the new library building shared its building with the Willow Glen Fire Station--had come from her and Library Board President Henri G. Hill.

During the two decades after opening Willow Glen Branch, Nurney planned fifteen more branches, funded from bond elections she developed with City Manager Dutch Hamann. She also implemented in 1958 the Addressograph circulation system, which used embossed plastic cards, known as "book-a­ matic" charge cards. At her retirement in the summer of 1970, Nurney was quoted, "I have accomplished what I started to do....I am pleased with the results and I'm a very happy person." She helped plan and implement a new Main Library, nine branch libraries, plans for seven more, a bookmobile, and a metropolitan library network with cooperating agreements in two adjacent cities. She died at age 71 in Sacramento.

2.8 Norton S. "Bud" Curtis (1921- ), Architect for the 1970 Main Library Building

Norton S. ("Bud") Curtis was the son ofarchitect ErnestN. Curtis and his wife Lottie. He was born in San Jose in 1921. Norton's grandfather Frederick Curtis had come to San Jose in 1888 and established a prominent masonry contracting business. Norton's father Ernest, began work for architect William Binder in 1911, and became a partner ofthe firm ofBinder & Curtis by 1918. During the first halfof the twentieth century, the firm ofWilliam Binder and then Binder & Curtis was one ofthe most prestigious local architectural firms. Ernest Curtis is credited with the design ofthe Civic Auditorium building, which influenced the design ofthe Main Library building thirty years later. Bud Curtis began work with his father's firm ofBinder & Curtis by 1947. William Binder died in 1953, but the firm continued under the leadership ofErnest Curtis into the 1950s, obtaining a number ofcivic and educational commissions. When plans began for the new Civic Center project on North First Street, the firm under Ernest Curtis was hired as the master architect, coordinating the work ofyounger architects selected to design the specific buildings. With Ernest Curtis' untimely death in 1956, Bud Curtis took over coordination ofthe Civic Center project, and is credited with bringing the new San Jose City Hall to completion with Donald Francis Haines as the architect ofrecord. He would later design the addition to former City Hall, known as the "City Hall Annex."

At the completion ofthe projects at the Civic Center, Bud Curtis closed the firm ofBinder & Curtis and formed the firm Norton S. Curtis & Associates in the early 1960s. With an established client base,

ARCHIVES & ARCHITECTURE Historical and Architectural Evaluation Page 23 Fonner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Main Library building San Jose, California he was able to take on commissions of substantial projects during the period ofrapid growth that the South Bay area experienced in the late 1950s and 1960s. Among other City projects ofwhich he was commissioned were the initial feasibility study for the Civic Auditorium expansion (1960), and the San Jose Police Administration Building and Police Garage expansion. In Santa Clara he designed a number offire stations and other government buildings. Educational work include a large number of buildings on the campus ofthe University of Santa Clara from 1962-1972, including Benson Memorial Center Student Union (1963), the II-story Swig Residence Hall (1966), Graham and Campisi Residence Halls, Bandan Hall, and a number ofKl-12 buildings for both San Jose Unified and Santa Clara Unified School Districts. Commercial buildings include multiple projects for Pacific Bell, Franklin Square and the II-story Library Tower (senior housing) in Santa Clara, the eight-story Security Savings & Loan Building on South First Street and the Charles Davidson Building on West Julian Street in San Jose, and bank buildings for Wells Fargo and Bank ofAmerica. Religious buildings include St. Victor's Worship Center, Holy Family Multi-use Building, St. Julie's Church, Church ofthe Holy Spirit Worship Center, Parish Hall, and Rectory, Notre Dame Convent (all in San Jose), Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery mausoleum, and Sister ofHoly Names Convent in Los Gatos.

His commission for the Main Library design appears to have been awarded largely on his reputation with City Manager Dutch Hamann, who recommended his hiring to the San Jose City Council at the completion ofan RFQ process for the design contract. His project architect was Jack Christensen, who worked for him about 21 years beginning in the early 1960s. In the mid-1970s, Bud Curtis merged with the engineering firm ofRuth & Going, Inc. of San Jose. The association, entitled Ruth, Going, and Curtis, Inc. lasted about five years, and included the final design ofKaiser's Santa Teresa Hospital. The firm ofNorton S. Curtis & Associates continued in San Jose until the late 1990s; Bud Curtis is retired at the present time.

As is common with most contemporary architects, the portfolio ofwork that can be attributed to the firm ofNorton S. Curtis & Associates has not been publically documented. The work ofthe firm has a strong institutional, educational, and religious orientation, and the character ofthe work ofthe firm is largely Formalist but directly associated with the Second Bay Region style that was popular in Northern California the post-World War II period. The firm's building designs include reference to local Spanish Colonial precedents, but utilize Modem materials and structural systems, especially the expression ofcast concrete.

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3.0 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

3.1 Design Context - Former San Jose Main Library building

In the early-to-late 1960s, one style ofModernist architecture utilized the repetitive formwork and organic qualities ofconcrete to create boldly sculptural building forms. Known as " Brutalist" -a term that reportedly came from Le Corbusier and the French words for "raw concrete" -these designs were intended to act as bulky, unembellished backdrops for colorful and lively human activity and placed emphasis on the quality oflight and shadow created by patterns ofrecessed spaces.

Such internationally acclaimed architects as Le Corbusier, whose Secretariat in Chandigarh, India is identified as the earliest example ofthe style in the early 1950s, and Paul Rudolph, whose Yale Architectural School has come to signify a benchmark ofthe trend in America, along with LM Pei, Philip Johnson, Louis Kahn, Ulrich Franzen, Minoru Yamasaki, and John Carl Warnecke & Associates, were designing buildings that featured heavy, exposed-concrete exoskeletons and open interior spaces. Repetitive patterns ofcast concrete, typically with rough, board-formed surfaces, expressed the structural capabilities ofthe building materials and communicated the interior uses of the spaces on the exterior ofthe building. The style also addressed minimalist Modernist objectives and late-Modernist interest in abstract sculptural form.

The buildings were often combined with extensive paved plazas that sometimes incorporated large­ scale fountains by such notable landscape architects as the West Coast's Lawrence Halprin. While earlier Modernism can be identified for its slender columns ofsteel, extensive glass curtain walls, and thin-shell roof shapes, this later movement accentuated the heaviness ofconcrete as a material, and many included inset podium bases that accentuated the mass ofthe overhanging concrete and drew attention to the technical expertise that allowed cantilevered upper levels.

At a more massive scale, the style was utilized for civicarchitecture and institutional buildings, such as for churches and on college campuses. Notable internationally known buildings that represent this style include Boston's Government Center by Kallmann, McKinnell & Knowles, Paul Rudolph and others (1968-70), the former World Trade Center Towers by Yamasaki (completed in 1972), and LM. Pei's Christian Science Center in Boston (1969-70). Smaller-scale buildings that utilize this style include local bank and office buildings.

3.2 Local Architectural Context

Only a few large-scale examples ofthis style exist in the South Bay Area. There is a collection of roughly formed concrete buildings at San Jose State University, including work by architects Ernest J. Kump, Alan Walters and John Plueger. The early portions ofPark Center Plaza designed by Victor Gruen & Associates and architect Cesar Pelli, developed in the early 1970s, embody many Brutalist characteristics, including podium bases, unpainted concrete, and a large, raised plaza; however, this complex does not have the rough formwork or sculptural qualities of earlier Brutalist work. The San Jose Police Administration on West Mission Street in San Jose has characteristics ofthis style, and was designed by Norton S. Curtis & Associates while the Main Library was under construction. By the early 1970s, Modernism had lost much ofits roughness, and while concrete-clad buildings continued to be popular in the area, they were often characterized by smooth surfaces and integral color and often prefabricated concrete panels.

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3.3 Detailed Description

The multi-story former Main Library building is an example oflate twentieth-century Brutalism design within the context ofthe Second Bay Region style. The building is a distinctive local representation ofthis style, known for its expressive, rough-textured materials and boldly sculptural forms. Other typical Brutalist features that are embodied by the former Main Library building include minimal fenestration and an exterior design that includes repetitive, contrasting areas oflight and shadow. This building is a late version ofthis type; it is in keeping with design trends contemporary with its construction, as it also incorporates such locally referential elements as the archways, tile bulkheads, and red terra-cotta pavers. The 1970 Library Journal says, "San Jose's new...main library appears to float-suspended on nothing more than air. Yet the graceful cantilevered lines ofthe thrusting elements at the second and fourth floor levels give the impression of ageless strength."

The building was originally planned as part ofa larger civic plaza. The library was intended to be the centerpiece ofan area similar to Lincoln Center in New York City-a broad, raised plaza accented by discrete, monumental civic buildings. Reflecting changes in city planning and design over the next two decades, the library and its setting were ultimately incorporated into the block-sized convention center complex, as well as flanked by high-rise hotels. The former library building is set back from West San Carlos Street; its main level is raised a half-story above street level and a sunken patio area that relates to sizeable window openings at the lower level. The original setting included sloping lawns and park like landscaping surrounding the sunken patios and small fountains at the base ofthe building. There were plans to depress West San Carlos Street and create raised pedestrian areas. The setting has been modified so that the building no longer sits in open space; it is, instead, hemmed in by later development. The current surroundings ofthe building include parking garage retaining walls along the east, south, and west, and security fences at the West San Carlos Street sidewalk, which constrict the front patio areas. The building appears almost as though it was a citadel isolated by a moat, rather than a gracious civic monument set in a park. It is interesting to note that the building was originally located on a corner site; Almaden Avenue once bordered the west side.

The building has fairly simple underlying stacked, rectangular floor plans, but the exterior incorporates patterns of deeply recessed and projecting elements that impart a complex, sculptural overall form. The building is arranged in three horizontal bands: a heavily glazed podium supports a cantilevered concrete center band that is in turn sheltered by a visually distinct top level. The two-story base is partly sunken below grade. A thin, cantilevered balcony divides the two levels; the balcony acts as the raised, main entry for the building. The base is set in on all sides from the upper levels, and its open character is primarily created by a regular series oflarge windows that appear as two-story

ARCHIVES & ARCHITECTURE Historical and Architectural Evaluation Page 26 Former Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Main Library building San Jose, California arches. Rectangular tripartite windows fill the wall bays between the square concrete columns at the lower level; tripartite arched windows complete the composition at the entry level. The spandrels above the arches curve outward to meet the next level. Overhanging the podium is a two-and-one-half­ story concrete shell that is accented by large-scale, full-height cantilevered ribs; these rest on quarter­ round buttresses that emulate the entry-level window arch pattern. The concrete walls were cast against board forms, so they are roughly textured. The walls are currently painted. The full-height rib features housed reading carrels as part ofthe former library use. Each one projects in a square section that smoothly curves back into the main wall. At their bases, a slight reveal casts a shadowline at the curved structural corbels. The ribs rise above the main wall, but don't touch or support the roof above. Each cantilever has a vertical ribbon window at its center; the window is surrounded by raised concrete trim to create the appearance ofa slot. Similar vertical slots are centered in the main wall between the cantilevers; these do not include windows. Carrels extend from the comers ofthe building; the curved edges form a multifaceted and curved comer design with ablank vertical slot trim piece at each comer. At the top ofthe main walls are patterns ofvertical, rounded, oblong keyhole openings that abstractly represent the presence ofa roof deck at the top floor; the openings hint at their function as the raised guardrail portions ofthe walls. A broad, flat roof deeply overhangs the recessed fourth floor window wall. The wide eave fascias have expressed structural outrigger beams that center above each carrel rib. The fascias are also ornamented with a soldier course ofraised concrete rectangles. The soffit ofthe roofis coffered; the shadows lend added contrast between the recessed building crown and the exposed concrete surface ofthe lower walls.

The building is centered on a sky­ lit atrium. A pyramidal skylight tops the building, and the second, third, and fourth floors have corresponding iron-cross-shaped openings. Between the first and third floors are escalators that provide sculptural circulation threads within the atrium. Three stair towers serve the building. An elevator tower, with two public elevators and a service elevator as well as restrooms and storage areas, is centered on the rear wall. Symmetrically placed at the center ofboth side walls are stair towers with employee break room facilities. At the front center ofthe first floor is the fully glazed entry area. Two floors above it is the former California Room, a previously secured room for special collections, paneled in redwood burl. In the upper basement, at the patio level, is a loading dock at the rear, and meeting rooms that open to the outdoors. There is a lower basement that houses the building systems and includes some storage.

The windows and doors are made ofbronze-anodized aluminum. These are recessed into the concrete structural system with no facing trim. The window bulkheads are tiled with an olive tile. The two pairs offront entry doors fit within a single, large archway. The floors ofthe cantilevered main-floor balcony and bridge, along with the floor ofthe upper deck, are covered with terra-cotta tile. Interiors

ARCHIVES & ARCHITECTURE Historical and Architectural Evaluation Page 27 Former Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Main Library building San Jose, California include carpeted floors and dropped acoustical ceilings. The service towers have rough-formed concrete walls, but the intermediate walls are primarily smooth-textured sheet rock. Interior doors have paneled upper transom panels that create the appearance offull-height doors.

The structural system consists of concrete columns on a square grid pattern. The building is five bays deep by seven bays wide. The upper floors all cantilever beyond the column grid; the first floor and lower incorporate the columns into their outer walls. The floor areas vary; each apparently has somewhat less than 19,000 square feet. The second and third floors are larger; the fourth floor has a roofdeck on four sides.

3.4 Integrity and character-defining features

The property and the former Main Library building retains some, but not all, ofits historic integrity as per the National Register's seven aspects ofintegrity. The building maintains its original location in the center of downtown San Jose, but an open, civic-plaza setting no longer surrounds it. Instead, it has been partiallyjoined to the convention center complex that has isolated the former library's lower levels with a moat-like setting. The building has integrity with its distinctive Brutalist design, including its distinctive roughly formed concrete construction, its two lower, glazed entrance floors that act as a pedestal, and its recessed top level that accentuates the depth ofthe roof overhang. Buildings from this era are not focused on hand workmanship; however, this building includes board formwork that embodies its period ofconstruction. The former library's original character-defining materials have been preserved, including concrete walls, tile accents, and interior finishes, such as the California Room's wood paneling. Although the original concrete has been painted yellow to match the Civic Auditorium building to the north, the building retains its massing, form, scale, and surface texture that establishes its monumental feeling and continues, through its location and design to illustrate its associations with twentieth-century patterns ofdevelopment in greater San Jose.

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4.0 EVALUATION FOR SIGNIFICANCE

4.1 Regulatory and Policy Background

This portion ofthe report constitutes an historical and architectural evaluation ofthe properties that are the subject ofthis report. More specifically, three sets ofguidelines were used; the National Park Service's criteria for listing on the National Register ofHistoric Places, the California State Historic Resources Commission's requirements for listing on the California Register ofHistorical Resources, and the City of San Jose's Historic Preservation Ordinance (Chapter 13.48 ofthe Municipal Code).

4.1.1 Criteria of the National Register of Historic Places

The National Park Service considers the quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture that is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity oflocation, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and are evaluated for the National Register according to the following criteria:

Criterion A that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution tothe broad patterns ofour history; or Criterion B that are associated with the lives ofpersons significant in our past; or Criterion C that embody the distinctive characteristics ofa type, period, or method of construction, or that represents the work of a master, or that possesses high artistic values, or that represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or Criterion D that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Properties that are listed on or formally determined eligible for the National Register are automatically listed on the California Register.

4.1.2 California Register of Historical Resources

The significance criteria for the California Register ofHistorical Resources are similar to those used for determining eligibility for the National Register ofHistoric Places (see Section 4.3), but oriented to document the unique history ofCalifornia. The California Register includes properties listed in or formally declared eligible for the National Register, California State Landmarks above #770, certain Points ofHistorical Interest, and properties listed by application and acceptance by the California Historical Resources Commission. The California Register is a guide used by state and local agencies, private groups and citizens to identify historical resources throughout the state. The types ofhistorical resources eligible for listing in the California Register include buildings, sites, structures, objects and historical districts. [California Code ofRegulations Section 4852(a)]

Under California Code ofRegulation Section 4852(b) and Public Resources Code Section 5024.1, an historical resource generally must be greater than 50 years old and must be significant at the local, state, or national level under one or more ofthe following four criteria:

1. It is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States.

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2. It is associated with the lives ofpersons important to local, California, or national history. 3. It embodies the distinctive characteristics ofa type, period, region, or method ofconstruction, . or represents the work ofa master or important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values. 4. It has yielded, or has the potential to yield, information important to the prehistory or history ofthe local area, California, or the nation.

Ifnominated for listing in accordance with the procedures outlined in Public Resources Code Section 5024.1(f), the California Register may include:

(I) Individual historical resources. (2) Historical resources contributing to the significance ofan historic district under criteria adopted by the Commission. (3) Historical resources identified as significant in historical resources surveys, ifthe survey meets the criteria in Public Resources Code Section 5024.I(g). (4) Historical resources and historic districts designated or listed as city or county landmarks or historic properties or districts pursuant to any city or county ordinance, ifthe criteria for designation or listing under the ordinance have been determined by the State Historic Resources Officer to be consistent with California Register criteria adopted by the Commission. (5) Local landmarks or historic properties designated under any municipal or county ordinance.

California Code ofRegulations Section 4852(c) addresses the issue of"integrity" which is necessary for eligibility for the California Register. Integrity is defined as "the authenticity ofan historical resource's physical identity evidenced by the survival ofcharacteristics that existed during the resource's period ofsignificance." Section 4852(c) provides that historical resources eligible for listing in the California Register must meet one ofthe criteria for significance defined by 4852(b)(l through 4), and retain enough oftheir historic character ofappearance to be recognizable as historical resources and to convey the reasons for their significance. Integrity is evaluated with regard to the retention oflocation, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. It must also be judged with reference to the particular criteria under which a resource is proposed for eligibility. Alterations over time to a resource or historic changes in its use may themselves have historical, cultural, or architectural significance.

It is possible that historical resources may not retain sufficient integrity to meet the criteria for listing in the National Register, but they may still be eligible for listing in the California Register. A resource that has lost its historic character or appearance may still have sufficient integrity for the California Register ifit maintains the potential to yield significant scientific or historical information or specific data.

California Code ofRegulations Section 4852(d)(2) addresses the issue ofage as a "Special" consideration. A resource less than fifty (50) years old maybe considered for listing in the California Register ifit can be demonstrated that sufficient time has passed to understand its historical significance. In order to understand the historic importance of a resource, sufficient time must have passed to obtain a scholarly perspective on the events or individual associated with the resource.

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4.1.3 City of San Jose Policies and Ordinance

4.13.1 San Jose 2020 General Plan Strategies and Policies

The City ofSan Jose General Plan contains seven Major Strategies that identitY objectives to provide for a broad framework for consistent interpretation and application ofthe Plan's individual goals and polices. Ofthese strategies, the Urban ConservationlPreservation Strategy recognizes the importance of sustaining viable neighborhoods, as they are irreplaceable assets. The Plan notes that residents have a need to belong to a neighborhood or an area with community identity that promotes civic pride. In addition to maintaining and improving services through economic stability, preservation of specific structures or special areas contribute visual evidence to a sense ofcommunity that grows out ofthe historical roots ofSan Jose's past. Historic and architectural structures add inestimable character and interest to the City's image.

The Strategy is defined by specific goals meant to promote a greater sense ofhistoric awareness and community identity and to enhance the quality ofurban living through preservation ofhistorically and archaeologically significant structures, sites, districts and artifacts.

4.1.3.2 City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance

Under the City ofSan Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance (Chapter 13.48 ofthe Municipal Code), preservation ofhistoric landmarks and districts is promoted in order to stabilize neighborhoods and areas ofthe city; to enhance, preserve and increase property values; carry out the goals andpolicies ofthe city's generalplan; increase cultural, economic and aesthetic benefits to the city and its residents; preserve continue and encourage the development ofthe city to reflect its historical, architectural, cultural, and aesthetic value or traditions; protect and enhance the city's cultural and aesthetic heritage; and to promote and encourage continuedprivate ownership and utilization ofsuch structures.

Buildings and sites that derive quality based on historical, architectural, cultural, aesthetic and engineering interest or value are evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Identification or association with persons, eras or events that have contributed to local, regional, state or national history, heritage or culture in a distinctive, significant or important way; 2. Identification as, or association with, a distinctive, significant or important work or vestige: a. ofan architectural style, design or method ofconstruction; b. of a master architect, builder, artist or craftsman; c. ofhigh artistic merit; d. the totality ofwhich comprises a distinctive, significant or important work or vestige whose component parts may lack the same attributes; e. that has yielded or is substantially likely to yield information ofvalue about history, architecture, engineering, culture or aesthetics, or that provides for existing and future generations an example ofthe physical surrounds in which past generation lived or worked; or f. that the construction materials or engineering methods used in the proposed landmark are unusual or significant or uniquely effective. 3. The factor ofage alone does not necessarily confer a special historical, architectural, cultural aesthetic or engineering significance, value or interest upon a structure or site, but it may have such effect if a more distinctive, significant or important example thereof no longer exists.

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The designation process itselfrequires that findings be made that proposed landmarks have special historical, architectural, cultural, aesthetic, or engineering interest or value ofan historical nature, and that designation as a landmark conforms with the goals and polices ofthe General Plan. The following factors can be considered to make those findings among other relevant factors:

1. Its character, interest or value as a part ofthe local, regional, state or national history, heritage or culture; 2. Its location as a site ofa significant historic event; 3. Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the local, regional, state or national culture and history; 4. Its exemplification ofthe cultural, economic, social or historic heritage ofthe city ofSan Jose; 5. Its portrayal ofthe environment of a group ofpeople in an era ofhistory characterized by a distinctive architectural style; 6. Its embodiment ofdistinguishing characteristics ofan architectural type or specimen; 7. Its identification as the work ofan architect or master builder whose individual work has influenced the development ofthe city of San Jose; 8. Its embodiment ofelements of architectural or engineering design, detail, materials or craftsmanship which represents a significant architectural innovation or which is unique.

4.1.3.3 City of San Jose Evaluation Rating System

Based upon the criteria ofthe City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance, the San Jose Historic Landmarks Commission has established a quantitative process, based on the work ofHarold Kalman (1980), by which historical resources are evaluated for varying levels ofsignificance. This historic evaluation criterion, and the related Evaluation Rating Sheets, are utilized within the Guidelinesfor Historic Reports published by the City's Department ofPlanning, Building and Code Enforcement, as last revised on October 19, 1998.

Although the criteria listed within the Historic Preservation Ordinance are the most critical determinants when evaluating the significance ofhistoric resources in San Jose, the numerical tally system is used as a general guide for the identification ofpotential historic resources. The "Historic Evaluation Sheet" reflects the historic evaluation criteria for the Registers as well as the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, and analyzes resources according to the following criteria:

• Visual quality/design • History/association • Environment/context • Integrity • Reversibility • Interior quality and conditions • NRHP/CRHR status

A rating with numerical "points" is assigned by a qualified evaluator according to the extent to which each building meets the criteria listed above.

67 points and above Candidate City Landmark (CCL) 33-66 points Structure ofMerit (SM) 33-66 points Contributing structure to an historic district (CS) 1-32 points Evaluated and found to be non-significant

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4.1.3.4 City of San Jose Council Policy on Preservation of Historic Landmarks

The San Jose City Council's Preservation ofHistoric Landmarks Policy (adopted December 8, 1998, revised May 23, 2006) states that landmark structures, sites and districts should be preserved wherever possible. Landmark structures, sites and districts are defined as any designated City Landmark or Landmark Site, any building and/or structure designated as a Contributing Structure within a City Landmark Historic District, any building, structure and/or site listed on the California Register of Historic Places or the National Register ofHistoric Places, any building or structure designated as a Contributing Structure in a National Register Historic District, or any building, structure and/or site that qualifies for any ofthese designations based on the applicable City, state, or national criteria.

The policy requires that proposals to alter such buildings, structures and/or sites must include a thorough and comprehensive evaluation ofthe historic and architectural significance ofthe property and the economic and structural feasibility ofpreservation and/or adaptive reuse. Every effort should be made to incorporate existing landmark structures, sites and districts into future development plans.

Final decisions to alter or demolish a historic landmark or impact the integrity ofa landmark site and/or district must be accompanied by findings which document that it is not feasible to retain the resource. The financial profile and/or preferences of a particular developer should not, by themselves, be considered a sufficient rationale for making irreversible decisions regarding the survival ofthe City's historic resources.

4.2 Evaluation

The proposed project currently being considered for the former Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library site includes demolition ofthe existing structure. The subject property is not currently designated or listed on any state, local, or federal registers. The preparers ofthis report reviewed the subject property under state, local, and federal criteria, to analyze eligibility for listing or designation as a historic property.

The original building fabric ofthe 1970 Main Library appears to mostly be intact-the building has not experienced any modifications to structure, although the building has been painted, and minor modifications to the interior finishes have been made, as well changes to the related site plan that occurred as a part ofthe development ofthe Convention Center, removal ofAlmaden Avenue, and construction ofthe Hilton Hotel.

4.2.1 Significance within Historic Context - Patterns of Community Development

The former Main Library building is the oldest remaining public library built by the City of San Jose, although two other sites - the Hagan Building on East Santa Clara Street and the Old Post Office Building on South Market Street had also previously served as public library sites in the downtown. The East San Jose Carnegie Branch Library is older, but was built as a stand-alone library prior to consolidation ofthe two cities by the town ofEast San Jose.

Within the theme ofGovernment and Public Services, and the context oflibraries built during the early years ofthe Period ofIndustrialization and Suburbanization (1945-1991), the former Main Library has significance for being both a major library building constructed by the people of San Jose within a special municipal bond election, and as a distinguished structure constructed within the period ofrapid growth after World War II. It was the culmination ofa library expansion program that started in the late 1950s and is the signature building ofthat period ofgrowth in the development ofthe San

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Jose Public Library system. This significance is ofimportance at the local level; it is not associated with any symbolism or historical significance within the context oflibrarybuildings in California or the United States. Although the construction ofthe building was profiled in the December 1970 issue ofLibrmy Journal ofthe American Library Association, the review provided information only, and did not identify the opening ofthe library in San Jose as a significant event in the context ofAmerican library development. No other references were located indicating a special importance to San Jose's Main Library during the 1970s, which drew statewide or national attention or significance.

4.2.2 Significance Related to Historic Personages

The former Main Library building, although named in honor ofDr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1990, is primarily associated with City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney, who is a personage oflocal significance. She played a decisive and far-reaching role in the development ofthe San Jose Public Library system. She helped plan and guide its construction, but did not personally manage the building, as she retired shortly after completion ofthe building in 1970. No one building could represent her contributions, as her significance is associated with the greater branch system rather than a single edifice. As the last construction project under her direction, the building does represent in some ways the culmination ofher career; however, her work included development ofnine branch libraries, planning for seven additional branches, and the development ofa number oflibrary services that remain important today. Her contributions to San Jose are substantial, although the building itself only has a secondary relationship to her broad achievements as a City employee.

Later City Librarians who worked out ofthis building also made important contributions, although they are all sti111iving and are not considered to be historic personages.

Norton S. Curtis is an architect who may someday achieve historical significance as a local architect of the Modern period. As the bulk ofhis work is contemporary, it has not been fully evaluated.

4.2.3 Significance Related to Events

While many important community events have occurred at the former Main Library during the last 38 years, none have historic significance in a direct way in terms ofhistorical evaluation criteria.

4.2.4 Significance Related to Architectural Distinction

The former Main Library building is a late-Brutalist design and fairly rare among larger civic, institution, and commercial buildings in the greater Bay Area. The design is consistent with this innovative type, was popular during the late 1960s both locally and across the United States, and is a prime example locally as a variant within the Second Bay Region style. Its distinction was recognized at the time ofconstruction, both for its construction techniques and the quality ofform, composition, and detailing. It is an excellent example ofa poured-in-place concrete building in San Jose, and is noteworthy for its innovative approach to the design ofa community library building - its visual appearance both representative ofa contemporary design as well as respectful ofthe adjacent design of the Civic Auditorium.

The work ofNorton S. Curtis and his firm Norton S. Curtis & Associates in the design ofthe building is exemplary, even though information regarding his career is not fully understood at the present. His broader contributions to the profession have yet to be established in order for him to be recognized as a "master builder" within the context ofhistoric architecture.

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4.3 Evaluation per the Criteria ofNational, State, and Local Criteria

The former Main Library building was reviewed for potential listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register ofHistorical Resources, and for nomination as San Jose City Historic Landmark. Although less than 50 years in age, the National Register allows for listing ifthe property is ofexceptional importance. The California Register's limitation on age is not as definitive as that ofthe National Register; guidelines indicate that a resource "should" be at least 50 years in age. In the City of San Jose, the Historic Preservation Ordinance has no limitation on age when considering eligibility for city landmark designation.

It is the professional opinion ofthe consultants that the former Main Library building does not qualifY for listing on either the National or California registers primarily because ofits age. The building does however, appear to qualifY for designation as a San Jose City Historic Landmark, even though it is not 50 years old, as it scores over 67 point within the City's Evaluation Rating System, and appears to meet the findings necessary for designation under the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance.

The former Main Library building has local cultural significance as an intact representation of significant patterns ofcommunity development in San Jose's post-World War II Period of Industrialization and Suburbanization. Spe.cifically, the building is locally important as a post-World War II library built to house the primary circulation and reference collections ofthe City of San Jose, and acted as a primary symbol of San Jose's expanding library system during City's period ofrapid growth by the 1970s, when San Jose was the second fastest growing city in the nation. The building has associations with the late City Librarian Geraldine L. Nurney, a person who managed the library system for the City of San Jose from 1943 to 1970, and who was responsible for taking the San Jose Public Library and its two consolidated branches at the beginning ofthe post-War period to the modern library system with nine branches by 1970. The building represents the culmination ofher career. The association ofthis important personage however has only secondary importance to the building itself, as she retired from City service within three months ofits dedication in 1970. It also has significance due to its later renaming in 1990 in honor ofDr. Martin Luther King Jr., although this memorial is only related in a tertiary way to the significance ofthe library building, as the name has followed the facility with its relocation to the joint San Jose State University/City of San Jose Main Library that is now located on the university campus.

The building is also distinguished within the context of San Jose and South Bay architecture, a Brutalist design by a prominent local architect, Norton S. Curtis, whose work falls within the Second Bay Region type ofmodern architectural style. It was designed as a signature building ofits time, but with physical elements that drew inspiration from the Spanish Eclectic Civic Auditorium complex that had been designed three decades before by the architect's father, Earnest Curtis ofthe firm ofBinder & Curtis Architects. At the time it was opened in 1970, the 112,000 square foot structure was the City's largest public building project undertaken as ofthat date, its poured-in-place concrete design easily recognizable within the downtown core. The building was intended to be an anchor ofthe proposed Kennedy Fine Arts Center, the first building of a large master plan for local arts and culture. By the early 1970s, following the construction ofthis building and the Center for the Performing Arts, the master plan was abandoned.

When the larger San Jose Convention Center was built in the mid-to-late 1980s, the immediate context ofthe Main Library was irreversible modified in a way that no longer conformed to the cultural center master plan, and the convention center design by the Internationally known MitchelVGiurgola Architects consciously assumed that the Main Library building would be demolished soon thereafter to complete the convention center master plan that had different intentions. It would not be until

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February, 1997 that the plan to relocate the library to San Jose State University would be publically announced by San Jose Mayor Sl,lsan Hammer, although discussions among City officials about alternative sites for the library had been underway for over a decade. The subsequent "Strategy 2000, San Jose Greater Downtown Strategy for Development" has a recommended development related action for the site that considers replacing the current library (building) when vacated with a semi­ enclosed events space covering the entire plaza (in front ofthe convention center).

The former Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library building itselfserved as a backdrop in the 1990s for the City's promotion ofcommunity diversity, as banners with the words "Welcome" in many different languages were permanently draped outside the concrete walls to provide a strong visual symbol ofthe City's commitment to its multi-cultural populace.

The former Main Library building remains today as offices for City employees - an interim use. The building, although having important associations with contemporary growth and development ofthe city, is not historically significant within the criteria ofthe California Register ofHistorical Resources or the National Register ofHistoric .Places, as the building is less than 38 years old. Reaching a certain age is not a prerequisite for eligibility to the California Register, although a resource "should" be at least 50 years old to qualify.

Properties considered historically significance are those that have withstood the test oftime. It is generally understood that some detachment is needed to understand, evaluate, and establish the significance ofa resource. Without the perspective oftime, historical significance could be based-­ perhaps undeservedly--on popularity, taste, sentimentality, expediency, or class values, which might distort the designation process. Buildings less than 50 years ofage are generally considered too young to have gained historic perspective. There are some properties, however, that although less than 50 years in age clearly reflect an aspect ofcommunity values in a significant way, and who's physical presence appear to instill a sense oftimelessness. These properties are considered to have "exceptional importance."

"Exceptional importance" means that a building embodies community values that are timeless and widely accepted and recognized. The City ofSan Jose Public Library is clearly timeless and ofvalue to its citizens; however, it would appear from recent bond issues for replacement branch library buildings that the buildings are currently ofless general importance than the efficient functioning of the system itself. The former Main Library building arguably has some value within the architectural community for its distinctive representation oflate 1960s Brutalist design in the South Bay Area; however, at this time, this style ofarchitecture, along with much ofModern design, is not widely accepted as important to the general populace. Time would certainly provide a broader perspective on the significance ofthis building, but the building does not at this point have recognized "exceptional importance".

The site ofthe former Main Library building was also reviewed for potential contribution to a historic district. The Convention Center area clearly represents a distinct "place" within greater downtown San Jose and Santa Clara County, with buildings constructed as early as the 1930s to house community uses. The planning for this area, which evolved in the master plan for the Kennedy Center ofFine Arts in the 1960s, was never fully implemented. The master plan changed in the mid-l980s with the design and development ofthe San Jose McEnery Convention Center, and although some ofthe earlier facilities are presently used for conventions, the larger site lacks a sense ofcohesion that is associated with historic areas. Because ofboth the lack ofphysical distinction that overall center has overall as a historic place, and the fact that the majority ofbuildings within the area are contemporary, it would not appear that the larger site has significance as a potential historic district.

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Using the City of San Jose Historic Evaluation Rating system, the consultants who conducted the above evaluation found the former Main Library building to score l04 points. These points indicate that the former Main Library building would likely qualitY as a City Historic Landmark, given the establishment offindings pursuant to the City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance.

The public project proposed at the site ofthe former Main Library building would result in the demolition ofthe existing building. The subject property is not currently designated or listed on any federal, state, or local registers. Although it has been the practice ofthe City ofSan Jose to consider designated or candidate City Landmarks as historic resources under CEQA; the actual criterion for eligibility for the California Register must also be considered. The preparers ofthis report reviewed the subject property under state, federal, and local criteria, to analyze its eligibility for designation or listing, and, therefore, also its eligibility as a historic resource under CEQA. It is the professional opinion ofthese consultants that the building does not appear to qualitY for either the California or National Registers, as the case cannot be made that the building is of"exceptional importance."

4.2.6 Consistency with San Jose Policy on Preservation of Historic Landmarks

The convention center project does not include the preservation and rehabilitation offormer Main Library building, which is potentially eligible as a San Jose City Landmark Structure. The demolition ofthe former Main Library building has undergone a comprehensive evaluation ofthe historic and architectural significance within the body of this report. An analysis ofthe economic and structural feasibility ofpreservation and/or adaptive reuse is not a part ofthis document. This separate supplementary analysis, ifprepared according to the City's Policy on the Preservation ofHistoric Landmarks (see Section 4.1.3.4), would provide additional information to determine ifthe incorporation of the potential landmark structure into the project is feasible, or iffindings can be made which documents the infeasibility ofsuch preservation and/or adaptive reuse.

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5.0 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

5.1 Published Sources

Barrett, Dick. A centwy ofService, San Jose's 100 Year OldBusiness Firms, Organizations andInstitutions. San Jose: San Jose Chamber ofCommerce, 1977.

Cole, Dorothy Eth1yn. Who's Who in Librmy Service. New York: Grolier Society, 1955.

Douglas, Jack. Historical Footnotes ofSanta Clara Valley. San Jose: San Jose Historical Museum Association, 1993.

Douglas, Jack. Historical Highlights ofSanta Clara Valley. San Jose: History San Jose, 2005.

Kalman, Harold. The Evaluation ofHistoric Buildings. Ottawa: Minister ofthe Environment, 1980.

Muller, Kathleen. San Jose: City with A Past. San Jose: San Jose Historical Museum Association, 1988.

San Jose Public Library slide photo collection - Main library and branch binders, on file at the California Room, San Jose Public Library.

Hook, Robert D., "History ofthe San Jose Public Library: 1903-1937", unpublished research paper, San Jose State College, 1968.

Firth, Pauline. "San Jose Public Library History: A Chronology ofBranch Development 1937­ 1967." (unpublished thesis, San Jose State College, no date).

Peck, Willys L., The How and "Y" ofIt, 125 Years ofthe YMCA in Santa Clara Valley. San Jose: YMCA ofSanta Clara Valley, 1992.

Rice, Bertha M. The Women ofOur Valley, Vol. 1. Self-published, 1955.

Builder's ofOur Valley: a City ofSmall Farms. Self-published, 1957.

Vermillion, LYnIl L., "Early History ofLibraries in the San Jose Area." (unpublished thesis, San Jose State College, 1968).

5.2 Newspaper and Magazine Articles

San Jose Mercury Herald 1917 "San Jose as a Book Town" by Clarence Urmy, 8/12/1917.

San Jose Mercury, San Jose News, andSan Jose Mercwy-News 1961 "Park Center Proposal Covers 21.8 Acres" 10/19/1961

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1963 "Cultural Center Offand Running" San Jose Mercwy 3/14/1963 "Council Okays Cultural Center" San Jose Mercwy 3/13/1963 "Prizes Approved for Center Design" San Jose News 9/24/1963 "Kennedy Name Due on Cultural Center" San Jose Mercury 11/27/1963

1964 "Kennedy Center Fine Site for Library, Board Feels" San Jose Mercwy 4/16/1964 "Library Funds Sought" San Jose Mercwy News 12/10/1964 "Library Architect Hunt On" San Jose Mercwy News 4/16/1964

1965 "Step toward Library Aid" San Jose Mercury News 2/25/1965 "City Due $1 Million for Library" San Jose Mercwy News 5/25/1965 "Library Location Approved" "San Jose Mercury News 7/14/1965 "Council Put Downtown Library into New Site"" San Jose Mercwy News 7/20/1965 Hamann, AP. "It's Your City-Here Come the Libraries" East San Jose Sun, /24/1965 "Library Trustees Approve Center Plan" San Jose News 2/25/1965 "Library Architect Selected" San Jose News 2/24/1965

1967 "August May See Start ofLibrary" The Mercury News 7/3/1967 "Library Bid Call Date Set" San Jose News 7/6/1967 "Librmy Bid Opening Set" San Jose Mercury 7/7/1967 "SJ. Library Bid Opening Slated" San Jose News 8/1/1967 "Santa Cruz Firm Low on Library" San Jose News 8/2/1967 "Low Library Bidder Want to Withdraw" San Jose News 8/3/1967 "Erring Contractor Gets offBidHook" San Jose News 8/15/1967 "They'll Be Laying it on Thick at New Library" San Jose Mercury 11/9/1967 "Doing a Little Spadework on the Library" San Jose News 9/26/1967 "Library Begun" The MerClllY News 9/26/1967 "Park ofthe Guadalupe-A 'Great Downtown' Idea" San Jose Mercwy News 10/8/1967 Barrett, Dick. "Library Excavations Yield Up Treasures" San Jose News 10/23/1967 "Public Projects Prime Movers" San Jose News 6/22/1967 "Council Swith Assures New Library Escalators" San Jose News 8/29/1967

1968 "The Shape ofThings to Come in Downtown San Jose" The Mercwy News 1/18/1968 "Preview ofArches" The Mercury News 3/26/1968 "Only Halfto Go" The Mercwy News 10/19/1968

1969 "All the Walls are Up" The Mercury News 2/26/1969 "A Book Cover" San Jose Mercwy News 7/17/1969

1970 "San Jose: A Swinger" Library Journal 12/1/1970

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5.3 Unpublished Sources

City of San Jose. "Guidelines for Historic Reports, 1998 (rev.).

Groundbreaking Ceremony Pamphlet. Monday, September 25, 1967 11 :00

City of San Jose Capital Improvement Program Five Years: 1969-1974. Pamphlet

The Concept of Change. San Jose Redevelopment Agency Brochure, September 1969.

Strategy 2000 draft, San Jose Redevelopment Agency, January 2001.

Curtis, Norton. "San Jose Civic Auditorium Addition Feasibility Study." San Jose, 1960.

Laffey, Glory Anne, City ofSan Jose. "Historical Overview and Context for the City ofSan Jose," Prepared by Archives and Architecture for the City of San Jose, March 30, 1992.

Mandich, M. "The Growth and Development ofSan Jose, California - Social, Political, and Economic Considerations" Unpublished thesis, San Jose State University, 1975.

Salmon, David. "Metropolitan Area of Santa Clara County, California." Unpublished research paper, Stanford University, 1946.

San Jose Public Library, "The Library Plan for the City ofSan Jose." San Jose, 1944.

5.4 Personal Communications

Christensen, Jack. Personal communication with Franklin Maggi, January 2008.

Curia, Patricia. Personal communication with Franklin Maggi, January 2008.

Jung, William. Personal communication with Franklin Maggi, January 2008.

5.5 Image and Photo Credits

Cover Sketch. From the March 27,1956 City Council invitation to dedication ceremonies. California Room, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Artist unknown.

San Jose MerclI1Y, MerclI1Y Herald, Mercury News. Images from news stories, on file with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

USGS. Partial map ofSan Jose West, from National Geographic's TOPOl

Franklin Maggi. Contemporary digital photographs - reformatted for report, 2008.

http://www.sjlibrary.org/about/history/earlysjpl.htm

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6.0 APPENDICES

DPR523 form Evaluation Rating Sheets Library Fact Sheet

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