North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library, Public library building in North Hollywood, United States.
The North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Library is a public library built in Mediterranean Revival style, featuring red brick walls, Spanish tile roofing, and decorative wrought iron gates at 5211 Tujunga Avenue. The roughly 1,400 square meter (15,150 square foot) facility houses reading materials, computer access, tutoring services, and educational programs for the North Hollywood community.
The library began as two bookcases in a Lankershim post office, then moved to a feed store and a building on Margate Street. In 1923 Lankershim was annexed by Los Angeles, and in 1927 the branch moved to Bakman Street. The current Tujunga Avenue building, designed by Weston & Weston on a budget of about $25,000, opened on July 29, 1929. A 1956 addition by John James Landon nearly tripled its size.
In 1980 residents asked that the branch be renamed for Amelia Earhart, who had lived in the area and often used the library; the change took effect in 1981. A statue of Earhart stands in the adjacent park. Quotes from poet Sidney Lanier, the building's original namesake, remain above the fireplace and charging desk.
The library sits at 5211 N. Tujunga Avenue, with a parking lot and a new plaza added in the 2002 restoration. Entry passes through decorative wrought iron gates and a small rectangular vestibule. The 1956 addition matches the original in brick, roof and exterior detailing, so the building reads as one structure.
The two large terra cotta coats of arms flanking the clerestory belong to the family of poet Sidney Lanier, the library's original namesake. Inside, a tiled inscription above the fireplace quotes his line "I am a small-winged bird, but I can conquer the world."
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