When Libraries Were a Thing of Beauty: Margaret Carnegie Library
Margaret Carnegie Library, Mills College, Oakland circa 1949 The Mills College library, named in honor of Andrew Carnegie's daughter, is the only California Carnegie library designed by noted Bay Area architect Julia Morgan. The Spanish Colonial Revival building is located on the Oval near El Campanil. Andrew Carnegie funded only two academic libraries in California; the other is at Pomona College, in Claremont. Mills College received $20,000 in 1905. Two years earlier, Julia Morgan had designed the Mills oval and campanile, establishing a Mission style. Earthquakes have figured strongly in the library's history. In fact, its original dedication date had to be postponed because of the great 1906 quake which devastated San Francisco. Decades later when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Carnegie, the library collection had fortunately just been moved to a larger and more modern building nearby. Founded in 1852 as the Young Ladies’ Seminary in Benicia, California, Mills College has a rich Page 3