The History:
Andrew Carnegie and the Carnegie Corporation provided funding
for 1,681 public library buildings in 1,412 U.S. communities
between 1889 and 1923. This philanthropy had a great impact on the
growth of public library development in the United States. Free
public libraries supported by local taxation had begun with Boston
in 1849 and slowly spread throughout the country. The Carnegie
benefactions made them leap forward. This internationally famous
celebrity chose libraries as one of the primary sources for his
philanthropy. He also attached two conditions to his offer of money
for a public library building--the local community had to provide a
suitable site and formally agree to continuously support the
library through local tax funds. The latter solidified acceptance
of the concept of tax support for libraries.
In 1902 a group of Redding women organized the Women's
Improvement Club. The purpose of this club was city beautification,
of which there was little emphasis at the time. One of the women
wrote to Carnegie for funding for a building for the groups growing
public book collection; $10,000 was granted in 1903. The city
passed the required tax ordinance and a site, a "veritable bog"
next to the railroad tracks, was purchased from Southern Pacific.
The Club, in cooperation with the Lorenz estate, saw that the land
was prepared, landscaped and maintained for the library, Lorenz
Hotel, and civic auditorium sites. The building was designed and
built by Matthew W. Herron in the Classical Revival style, and
opened in 1904.
In 1948, a ballot measure was approved to establish a county
library. In 1949, the County Board of Supervisors created the
Shasta County Library System, and the Redding Library became part
of the operation. In 1962, a new Redding Library was opened at a
location on West Street and the old Carnegie building was
demolished; its bricks were later used to cover outside walls of
the police and former city council building. The site was then
turned into Library Park, which is now home to the Thursday Night
Marketfest during the summer.
The Redding Library was moved in 2007 to a newer state of the
art building on Parkview Avenue. It currently houses a collection
of over 130,000 books, audiovisual materials and databases designed
to meet the needs of all residents from pre-school children to
adults for study, information and recreational reading.
The Geocache:
This is a well hidden micro with no room to spare; you’ll
need to bring a pen to sign the log. While searching for this cache
please remember to be discreet and, for your own safety, stay in
the park. THERE IS NO NEED TO GO ON OR NEAR THE RAILROAD
TRACKS!