Dixon Library Could Make National List of Historic Places

Dixon's nearly 100 year-old library, one of the last remaining public libraries built with funding from industrialist Andrew Carnegie, is on the verge of making the National Register of Historic Places.

But plans to move the building to clear the way for a new and bigger library, could knock Dixon's Carnegie off the prestigious list.

The California State Historical Resources Commission voted recently to nominate the Dixon Public Library for the distinction. Once the paperwork reaches Washington, D.C. , federal officials have 45 days to give it the thumbs up or down, said State Historian Jay Correia.

For the past several years, however, the Dixon Public Library District Board of Trustees has been working on plans to build a new library that would more than triple the space from 7,000 square feet to at least 25,000, said Trustee Jim Ernst.

"The existing library is way too small," Ernst said. "We need a new library. I'm personally not interested in (the Carnegie library) as an old building. What I'm interested in is having a really fine, new library."

The existing library faces B Street and sits "in the middle of everything", leaving little space for a new facility, according to Ernst.

Talk of tearing down the old Carnegie building alarmed some residents, who formed a citizens' group to save it.  Now trustees say they want to move the Carnegie about 100 feet, changing the library's southern orientation to face 1^st Street.

"I think we have a good plan," Ernst said.

Its status on the nation's list of properties worthy or preservation doesn't mean it can't be torn down or altered. But the move could cause the library to lose it standing on the National Register.

 "In general, moving buildings is highly frowned upon because preservation looks at the whole community and relationships between buildings," Correia said. "A building's context is destroyed if it's removed from where it was originally. One of the basic tenants is that the orientation stays the same."

Maintaining its status would require following certain steps before moving the building, including an explanation of why it has to be moved.

A new library would cost an estimated $17 million to build, according to Ernst. Trustees hope to place a bond measure on a future ballot to raise the money.

"I don't think people will be ever interested in this because it's a horrible idea and big waste of money," said David Werrin, co-chairman of the Dixon Carnegie Library Preservation Society. "It's sort of like saying, 'Let's take the Alamo and move it up the block because we need that lot for a shopping center.

"You don't move an historic building and maintain its historical significance."

More than 2,500 Carnegie libraries were built all over the world. Of the 142 in California, only 85 are still standing, according to the Carnegie Libraries of California web site. Dixon's Carnegie is one of 36 in the state still being used as a library.

Correia said the National Register not only lists properties that are architecturally significant, but ones that played a significant role in historic events such as the development of a community.

"Frequently, these Carnegie libraries were constructed in small towns early in their histories, when there weren't educational resources that we have today," Correia said. "So you can imagine before an era of television and even radio, that these would be important places for community members to go."

Correia added that many communities, spurred by local women's organizations, built libraries to counteract the rougher elements in town.

In Dixon's case, the Women's Improvement Club hoped to force out "houses of ill-repute" along B Street, according to the library's web site.

Although there have been a few changes over the years, Dixon's library has remained much the same as it opened in 1913. Ornamentation around the windows, decorative parapets and sconces are all intact.

 "There's not one building in Dixon on the National Register. Almost all the historic buildings in town have been destroyed or adulterated," said Werrin. "We hope that the building will be on the registry very shortly. It's exciting for us because we want to keep the building where it is."