he great steel magnate and philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie donated $12,000 in 1906 towards the construction
of the building to be used as a library for the area. The Oxnard
structure is one of 1,678 built throughout the United States
and funded by the industrialist between 1881 and 1920. Other
money was raised by local businessmen to help furnish the books
for the collection. Its Neo-Classical (1900-1920) architecture
and grand scale preserves the prevailing taste for classical
forms during the first decades of the twentieth century. Its
strict Greek Temple facade in the Doric Order with interior Ionic
columns are graphic documents of a young western town's striving
for recognition. Its Greek architecture was in fact the choice
of Oxnard's first mayor, Richard Haydock. It was designed by
Los Angeles Architect, Franklin Burnham.
Its Greek facade and
porticoes remain unique amid the many old and new Spanish Mission
style buildings of Ventura County. Even at the time of its construction
the Carnegie was fortunate to be built in the striking Neo-Classical
mode. Apparently competition for classical building decor was
fierce after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and Andrew Carnegie
was becoming adverse to building "Greek temples" for
libraries. It is one of the oldest buildings in Ventura County
and was designated a county landmark in 1971. It is enrolled
in the National Register of Historic Places.
The lower level of the building served as Oxnard's City Hall
from the opening of the library in 1907 until 1949. The building
has been modified several times and in 1923 a sizable three story
addition was made on the east side of the edifice. With the completion
of a new modern library in 1963, the Carnegie building ceased
to function as a library and served as quarters for the Chamber
of Commerce, Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and the Art Club
of Oxnard.
In 1978 federal funds were obtained
to remodel and refurbish the building. The striking architecture
of the building has remained essentially untouched throughout
the building's history. The original columns, topped by Ionic
capitals, still surround the domed entry. The chandelier in the
entry, added during the renovation, dates from the same period
as the original portion of the building. In 1980, at the conclusion
of the remodeling, the building reopened as the Carnegie Cultural
Arts Center, housing the Art Club of Oxnard, the Oxnard Historical
Society Museum and the audiovisual portion of the Oxnard Public
Library. Since then, the Cultural Arts Center by a City of Oxnard
Resolution in 1986 has been transformed into the Carnegie Art
Museum, owned and operated by the City of Oxnard.
