Former Central Library at Eighth and E in 1971
Photo by Unknown, 1971
The San Diego Public Library was established in 1882 in rented space in a bank building at Fifth and G. The city received a Carnegie Library Grant in 1899, a building was built in 1902 at 820 E Street and the Public Library was moved from the bank building. In 1952, the Carnegie Library building was demolished and the new library opened at the same location in 1954, shown in this 1971 photo. It closed permanently in 2013 to begin the process of transferring collections to the new Central Library at 330 Park Boulevard.