Helen Hunt Jackson Branch

Infobox_nrhp | name =Jackson, Helen Hunt, Branch
nrhp_type =

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caption = Helen Hunt Jackson Branch, 1925
location= 2330 Naomi St., Los Angeles, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 1
lat_seconds = 1
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 118
long_minutes = 15
long_seconds = 8
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1925
architect= Noerenberg, C.E.
architecture= Mission/Spanish Revival
added = May 19, 1987
governing_body = Private
mpsub=Los Angeles Branch Library System TR
refnum=87001011cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Helen Hunt Jackson Branch is a former branch library of the Los Angeles Public Library. The building was built in 1926 based on a design by architect C.E. Noerenberg. The branch was named for 19th Century American author Helen Hunt Jackson whose popular novel "Ramona" told the story of a romance between a mixed-race girl and an American Indian during the days of the California missions. The branch has ceased operating as a library and has been converted into a church building.

The branch began operations in rented rooms at 2701 Central Avenue. The branch was an outgrowth of the Central Avenue Branch, which was divided into two branches, the Helen Hunt Jackson Branch and the Bret Harte Branch. The new building for the Jackson Branch was built at 25th Street and Naomi Avenue opened in November 1925. At the time of the opening, the "Los Angeles Times" wrote: "Noerenberg, the architect, ... has succeeded in combining in this new library ample window lighting with sufficient wall and shelving space together with an attractive exterior. There is a main reading room 26 x 25, a children's room 22 x 23, a delightful clubroom for the neighborhood gatherings and kitchen and workroom for the staff." [cite news|title=Branch of Library to Open Soon: Public Admitted Tuesday to New Building at Naomi and Twenty-Fifth Streets|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1925-11-01]

In 1940, the Board of Library Commissioners announced that the Helen Hunt Jackson Branch would be converted from a branch library to a station, open only 21 hours per week. [cite news|title=City Library Will Curtail Service; Economies Forced by Reduced Tax Budget, Board Announces |publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1940-09-10] In 1987, the Helen Hunt Jackson Branch and several other branch libraries in Los Angeles were added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of a thematic group submission.The [http://www.nr.nps.gov/multiples/64000066.pdf Los Angeles Branch Library System TR] Multiple Property Submission nomination explains 22 branch libraries but one, the University Branch, appears not to have been listed.] The application noted that the branch libraries had been constructed in a variety of period revival styles to house the initial branch library system of the City of Los Angeles. With respect to the Jackson Branch, the application described the building as a one-story Spanish-Mediterranean Revival style building located in a residential area. It is designed with an L-plan and features an inset tower with a hip tile roof which rises above the flat roof of the building. The recessed entry is through a tower and entrance doors are multi-paned. By the time of the application in 1987, the building had already been converted to use as a church.

As of May 2008, the building was used as a church operated by the "Asamblea Apostolica de la Fe in Cristo Jesus," as shown in the photograph above.

ee also

*List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
*Los Angeles Public Library

References