Arlington in Riverside in Riverside County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Arlington Branch Library

1908 - 1909

— Cultural Heritage Board Landmark —

Arlington Branch Library Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Volt Craft, June 12, 2026

1. Arlington Branch Library Marker

Inscription.
This Greek revival building was paid for with a donation by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and with a local match. Since construction, the library has, at various times, shared the structure with the fire department the national guard, and during the great depression a welfare relief station.

Erected by City of Riverside. (Marker Number 46.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education. In addition, it is included in the Carnegie Libraries, and the Riverside Cultural Heritage Board Landmarks series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1908.

Location. 33° 55.162′ N, 117° 26.845′ W. Marker is in Riverside, California, in Riverside County. It is in Arlington. It is at the intersection of Roosevelt Street and Magnolia Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Roosevelt Street. Located at the west entrance to the library. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9580 Magnolia Ave, Riverside CA 92503, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles,

in the

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Inland Empire,

and in the Peninsular Ranges.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sherman Institute (approx. 0.7 miles away); Hawthorne House (approx. 1.2 miles away); Camp Anza Officer's Club (approx. 1.7 miles away); Heritage House (approx. 1.8 miles away); MALSR (approx. 2.2 miles away); Henry M. Streeter House (approx. 3 miles away); Magnolia United Presbyterian Church (approx. 3 miles away); Memorial Grove at Clough Park (approx. 3.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Riverside.

Also see . . .
1. Landmarks of the City of Riverside (see #46).

Designed by Seeley L. Pillar and completed in 1909, this Classical Revival style building is the City’s first branch library and oldest library building. G. Stanley Wilson designed the 1927-28 remodel.

Arlington Branch Library - West Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Volt Craft, June 12, 2026

2. Arlington Branch Library - West Entrance

The marker is to the right of the door. Note: This is a panoramic photo with a lot of distortion. The building is not curved or tapered. (Better photo wanted.)

(Submitted on June 12, 2026, by Volt Craft of Riverside, California.)

2. National Register of Historic Places #93000668 (40MB pdf). NRHP application, excerpt:

Today, the Arlington Branch Library is one of the few distinctive structures and landmarks in an ethnically changing area of Riverside characterized by considerable commercial blight and aging housing stock. For more than four generations, this building has been a tangible symbol of civic life to its surrounding community. In 1980 it a was designated as "City Landmark 46" by Riverside’s Cultural Heritage Board in recognition of its architectural distinction and the social history it embodied.

The Arlington Branch Library has architectural significance as the sole remaining exemplar of public Classical Revival architecture in Riverside, as the oldest library building in a county the size of Massachusetts, and as a product of two prominent regional architects. The Arlington Library's social significance derives from its representing an early attempt to deliver equitable public services in a Southern California locality made geographically unwieldy by water concerns
Photographed by Volt Craft, June 12, 2026

3. Arlington Branch Library - North Side
and from the building's lengthy and varied role as a community center.

(Submitted on June 25, 2026, by Volt Craft of Riverside, California.)

Library Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Volt Craft, June 12, 2026

4. Library Sign

South side of library image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Volt Craft, June 12, 2026

5. South side of library

Credits. This page was last revised on July 10, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 12, 2026, by Volt Craft of Riverside, California. This page has been viewed 28 times since then. Last updated on June 25, 2026, by Volt Craft of Riverside, California. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 12, 2026, by Volt Craft of Riverside, California. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Better wide view marker photo (photo #2). • Can you help?