Designs, Designers & Architects of the Library

The 8,000 square feet Vermont Square Branch Library is a T-shaped, one-story building that was designed in an Italian Renaissance-style fashion and “Prairie style proportions” (National Park Service, 1987, p. 6; Los Angeles Cultural affairs Department, 1993, p. 4; Los Angeles Public Library, 1996, p. 2). The library's building dimensions measures 85' x 57' (Los Angeles Public Library, 1928, p. 13). Its foundation is raised and it has a red-tile roof supported by expansive, stained overhanging eaves. The building’s façade, which is symmetrical, is “divided into three sections with its center portion protruding slightly” (National Park Service, 1987, p. 6). The center portion is “faced with terra cotta blocks with geometric patterns” that are “reminiscent of Classical motifs.” The library’s short staircase leads up to the entrance which “has a Palladian transom above (p. 6). The entrance is located on a midway that is halfway up the stairs, and the staircase’s top half is located inside the building (p. 6).

The library’s two wings are divided horizontally by “two different facing materials” (National Park Service, 1987, p. 6). The exterior walls below the window sills of the library are covered by cream-colored glazed brick covers. The windows are long and vertical, and “located high up the walls.” They are grouped in 5’s on “either side of the entry, the sides, and at the rear” (p. 6). Between the windows are terra cotta panels, which harmonize with the entry’s decorative border. Also, the central arch is “recessed within a decorative arch” and “a cornice of terra cotta forms a cornice around the entire building” (Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, 1993, p. 4; National Park Service, 1987, p. 6).

The library’s original charging desk is still found on the main floor. The reading room, with its coffered ceiling, features a row of large octagonal columns running down its center. To top it off, the library’s outdoor reading room, located on its northwest side, is located above the large community auditorium (National Park Service, 1987, p. 6).

The beautiful branch library was built by prominent architectural team Hunt & Burns (National Park Service, 1987, pp. 2, 6; Los Angeles Public Library, 1928, p. 13). The entire cost for the construction of the branch was $38,466 (about $350,000 today) (Los Angeles Public Library, 1928, p. 13). The style that was used was typical of those that were adopted by the Carnegie Corporation. With its exquisiteness, the Vermont Square Branch Library is considered to be an architectural masterpiece (Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, 1993, p. 4; National Park Service, 1987, p. 2).