Central Santa Rosa Library

From a private library association in downtown Santa Rosa to an integral piece of the countywide library system, the Central Branch of the Sonoma County Library has been providing library services to the citizens of Santa Rosa since 1859. It was the fourteenth public library established in the state and received a grant from the Carnegie Foundation to build on the corner of Fourth and E Streets in 1904. The stone building was damaged by the 1906 earthquake and repaired, but was eventually torn down in the 1960s to make way for the new building designed by architect Francis Joseph McCarthy.