Library should remain downtown

There’s been some chatter recently of moving Riverside’s Central Library (a.k.a. Main Library) from its current downtown site on Mission Inn Avenue to a location east of the 91 Freeway. We feel this would be a big mistake.

The notion began with a seemingly innocuous letter to the editor that appeared in the June 19th edition of the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

Isn’t now the time to consider moving the library to a larger area away from the downtown congestion and space constraints? Why not a new building just across the freeway on University Avenue? …

Letters to the Editor – Riverside Press-Enterprise – June 19, 2007

Initially, the letter received a smattering of support:

It is a tired old building. It has a broken elevator and inadequate restrooms. Even the auditorium was too small. … It’s time to close it and move on to a new modern library with adequate parking and access. …

Letters to the Editor – Riverside Press-Enterprise – June 22, 2007

I agree … the sensible thing to do is build a new main library outside the downtown business area, where there can be adequate, convenient parking. I rarely go to the library because of the parking hassle. …

Letters to the Editor – Riverside Press-Enterprise – June 29, 2007

Although we agree the Eastside indeed could use an expanded library, moving the downtown branch is not the answer. Simply put, the Central Library plays a vital role in the city’s reemerging downtown arts & culture community. And as the main branch of the citywide system — as well as being a primary governmental repository for Riverside County and the Inland region as a whole — the Central Library should remain downtown where it is both expected and belongs.

Moreover, the library is probably the best entity in drawing folks of all neighborhoods and of all classes to the downtown area, some of whom their only semi-regular exposure to downtown may in fact come from visiting the Central Library. And with a reemerging downtown, such wide-ranging exposure is critical for long-term stability.

Fortunately, it appears many others share our view, including the president of the Riverside Public Library Foundation:

The primary reason was that the main library is an integral part of the downtown of a community, just as much as the other municipal buildings there. There are branches in other parts of town, including the Eastside, but that is not where a main library belongs. …

Molly Carpenter – Riverside Press-Enterprise – July 8, 2007

And the chairman for the Riverside Downtown Partnership board of directors::

The main public library is an integral part of the mosaic of cultural amenities downtown. Its proximity to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, the Riverside Art Museum, the Mission Inn Foundation Museum, the UCR/ARTSblock and the future Riverside school for the arts allows a synergy in programming that would be lost if it were relocated outside the downtown core. …

Mike Grabeniker – Riverside Press-Enterprise – July 12, 2007

And even Duane Roberts, owner of the Mission Inn, who no doubt might be easily tempted in viewing the adjacent library property for expansion of the popular Mission Inn hotel. However, he too understands the importance of having the library at his doorstep:

Several recent letters to the editor have urged the city of Riverside to demolish the main library downtown, effectively eliminating library services from the heart of our city. … As the owner of the Mission Inn, there is no person more interested in an economically vibrant downtown, but not at the cost of losing an important center of arts and culture. …

Duane Roberts – Riverside Press-Enterprise – July 20, 2007

But, we must confess, this post goes beyond the relocation factor. We’re about to broach a subject that has touched many a nerve since the “new” library replaced the old Carnegie in December 1964 (and officially dedicated in early 1965).

First off, we wholeheartedly agree it was a shame to lose the 1903 Carnegie to the wrecking ball during the mid-1960s. However, as painful as that might have been, it is now in the past and there’s nothing we can do to reverse that particular decision — but we can keep from repeating it.

With that said, we believe the current building has its own architectural merits, and thus, should not meet a similar fate. In fact, we’re even willing to say we like it. (There, we said it.)

Although we agree its placement in the midst of historic architecture — ranging from the eclectic Mission Inn to the ornate First Congregational Church — is indeed a bit jarring. We also believe the building itself offers some of the best representation of mid-century, New Formalism architecture within the entire Inland region. Such architecture may not be fully appreciated by older generations, but recent generations have grown up among such striking, modern architecture — only to see it now quickly disappearing from the landscape. Moreover, though subjective as it is, who’s to say Mid Century Modern isn’t the next historic architecture worth preserving?

If anything can be said about losing the historic Carnegie and its eventual replacement with the modern facility, is that it proved to be a catalyst in bringing historic preservation to the forefront in Riverside. In fact, we have heard it said that it — along with also losing the Evans Building in 1964 — was a chief reason for the coalescence of historic preservation efforts during the 1960s, which played a pivotal role in preserving the Mission Inn in the 1970s and early 1980s. To lose such a real-life, existing reminder for future generations to see with their own eyes — in all its juxtapositional glory — we feel will only increase the likelihood of repeating similar mistakes.

Thus, we say the current library should stay standing as a living and breathing reminder of the need for comprehensive historic preservation — incorporating various eras and many styles of architecture — else similar demolition mistakes may again happen in the future.

Finally, why not make the current Metropolitan Museum the “new” Central Library and the current Central Library the “new” Metropolitan Museum? Architecturally, the current library looks more like a museum of modern art while the current museum looks more like an historic library. There, it’s settled.

All kidding aside, we believe the city’s main library branch belongs downtown — and nowhere else.

(2025 UPDATE: After several years — and a few different concepts — deciding whether to renovate, expand, or relocate the downtown library, plans finally moved forward in February 2016 to build a new library. Located three blocks to the west on the same street (Mission Inn Avenue) as its predecessor, designs for the new Main Library were approved in October 2017. Construction began in March 2019 with completion in February 2021. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, opening to the public was delayed until June 2021. The 1964/65 Mid-Century Modern library was then renovated into the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture — aka “The Cheech” — that opened in June 2022 as a companion to the Riverside Art Museum. And groundbreaking for an expanded Riverside Metropolitan Museum — renamed Museum of Riverside in 2019 — took place in June 2025, with completion and reopening expected sometime in 2027.)

Related

• Riverside Press-Enterprise – Riverside library to get more elbow room (April 24, 2007)
• City of Riverside – Riverside Public Library | Museum of Riverside (formerly Riverside Metropolitan Museum)

Riverside Main Library – 1903-2021
From Carnegie to MCM to The Cheech

Sources: Riverside Press-Enterprise (PE-20070424, PE-20070619, PE-20070622, PE-20070629, PE-20070708, PE-20070712, PE-20070720), City of Riverside

2025 PAGE UPDATE: Removed/updated outdated links to newspaper articles and added article citations/inserts; added additional images and minor context; corrected opening of new library to December 1964 (from early 1965); added photo gallery and 2025 update.