History of the North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library

The history of the North Hollywood Amelia M. Earhart Regional Branch Library began in the early 1900's, as two bookcases in the corner of a City of Lankershim post office. As the library grew, it moved to a designated section within a feed store located at the corner of Lankershim Boulevard and Margate Street, and then to its own building on Margate next to the police station. On December 29th 1923, Lankershim was annexed to the City of Los Angeles, and the Lankershim library branch was turned over to the Los Angeles Public Library system in February of 1924. When the space on Margate became too small, the library moved to 5324 Bakman Street in August of 1927. That same summer, the City's name changed from "Lankershim" to "North Hollywood", and the Library Board changed the name of the Lankershim branch to the Sidney Lanier Branch. This name change was in keeping with the Los Angeles Public Library's tradition of naming branches after literary figures. Sidney Lanier was born in 1842 in Georgia and was a well-received Southern poet. Finally, on July 29th 1929, the library moved to its present location at 5211 Tujunga Avenue.

The original library building in Tujunga was constructed in 1929 by architects Eugene Weston and Eugene Weston Jr. in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It's a one-story stucco Mission-style building with red and white-washed brick and a clerestory containing seven multi-pane recessed windows. The upper roof is layered with red Spanish tiles, as is the lower roof, which is located below the clerestory windows and extends over a rectangular front porch. Two large coat-of-arms decorate either side of the clerestory, the left one depicting the Lanier family crest. An open-beamed ceiling enhances the building's Spanish character, as do the stained-glass windows at its entrance. Atop the fireplace is a display of hand-decorated Spanish-style tiles quoting the poet Sidney Lanier with the words "I am a small-winged bird, but I can conquer the world"." Another Sidney Lanier quote runs above the circulation desk in gold lettering: "The earth: A grain of pollen dropped in the vast calyx of heaven." A third quote is etched into the pavement surrounding a plaza of plants that reads "The black birds giving a shimmer of sound, as midday transparent tremors of the heart and haze".

 Due to an unprecedented influx of people to the City of Los Angeles after World War II, steps had to be taken to accommodate the high demand for library services. The North Hollywood Sidney Lanier Branch was designated the Regional Branch for the San Fernando Valley in 1950 and housed the San Fernando Valley area office internally. Seven years later, in 1957, the library celebrated a new addition that almost tripled its size. The architects who oversaw this project were John James Landon and Associates. They reconfigured and reorganized shelving and cabinetry, and brought in a large amount of new furniture. New reading areas, such as the teen alcove, were also included in this much-needed addition.

On November 12th 1980, the Library Board of Commissioners passed a motion to change the name of the library from the North Hollywood Sidney Lanier Regional Branch to the North Hollywood Amelia M. Earhart Regional Branch. This request came from library patrons and local civic organizations interested in Amelia Earhart. The name change was particularly apropos because of the Amelia Earhart monument erected on the adjacent North Hollywood Recreation Center, years earlier.

On April 21st 1981, the North Hollywood branch was officially renamed in honor of the female aviatrix Amelia M. Earhart, who lived nearby in Toluca Lake at the time of her disappearance. One year later, on May 19th, 1987, the branch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles as part of a thematic group nomination of library branches built in revival styles, to preserve these institutions' original structures.

When the 1994 Northridge quake hit the San Fernando Valley, many branches sustained sizeable damage and were closed until repairs could be made. During this time, the North Hollywood branch was adopted by MCA/Universal, one of the first partners in the Library Foundation's Adopt-a-Branch program, which helped fund repairs. The Amelia Earhart Regional Branch was the last of these damaged branches to open, and after significant repairs and cosmetic improvements, celebrated the event on April 17th 1995. Two years later, on July 19th, 1997, the newly improved library held a special celebration in honor of Amelia Earhart's 100th birthday.

By 2002, the library had become crowded once again. Through funding from Proposition DD, the 1998 Library Construction Bond, and funds from the City of Los Angeles' Seismic Bond and the Community Redevelopment Agency, M2A Architects and ARK Construction expanded and restored the 1929 building to its original integrity. Renovations feature an addition of 1,400 square feet, reconfigured interior spaces that include a children's room, a new plaza, and a public parking lot, bringing the library facility to a total of 15,150 square feet. The addition was designed to blend seamlessly with the older structure while still incorporating decorative modern updates, such as the four clay art friezes in the reading room, created by artist Beverly Crist, depicting books and community. Following this update, in 2003 and 2004, the North Hollywood Amelia M. Earhart Regional Branch was awarded the State of California Governor's Design Award, the Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award, and the California Preservation Foundation Design Award.

Over the years, the branch has been a cultural gathering place for the community, providing information and enrichment. The library has received donations to house a special collection of books on various aspects of aviation, with a particular focus on women in aviation, which has been dubbed the Amelia Earhart collection. Furthermore, the Amelia Earhart Regional Branch has received support from many local businesses and other organizations over the years, such as The Forest Lawn Foundation. Currently, the North Hollywood Amelia M. Earhart Regional Branch specializes in extensive Russian and Spanish-language collections, as well as comprehensive programming, technology, and fiction and non-fiction collections in the adult, teen, and children's areas.