Alameda Free Library, Carnegie library in Alameda, United States.

Alameda Free Library is a neoclassical building with balanced proportions, classical columns, and large windows that fill reading rooms with natural light. The interior layout is designed so daylight reaches work areas and book collections throughout.

Alameda's library had no dedicated building until this Carnegie library was built from 1902 to 1903; books had been housed in various buildings since 1877. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 1982. A 1996 parcel tax for a new main library failed, but voters passed Measure O in 2000; the new main library at 1550 Oak St. opened in 2006.

The library's name, Alameda Free Library, echoes the free public library movement of the late 19th century, when the city's collection was housed in various buildings from 1877. The Carnegie building, across the street from Alameda City Hall, was the first structure built specifically for the library. Its portico frieze shows an open book, a detail visitors can spot above the entrance.

The current main library at 1550 Oak St. opened in 2006, across the street from Alameda City Hall. The earlier Carnegie building, faced in buff brick over a gray sandstone basement, stands nearby and is worth a look from the outside. Voters approved Measure O in 2000 to fund the new building, a $26.1 million project with matching state bond money.

The two brick columns of the front portico were the first of their kind in California, and the frieze's tympanum shows an open book. The main reading room sits on the second story, reached by a marble staircase, with five stained glass windows on its south wall. The building was listed on the National Register on June 25, 1982.