Palo Alto To Mark 60th Anniversary Of Rinconada Library

PALO ALTO, CA — The Rinconada Library in Palo Alto is turning 60 years old, and an anniversary celebration is planned for later this month. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 29, the Palo Alto City Library invites the community to a 60th anniversary event that will feature a presentation on the work of the Newell Road library’s original designer, world-renowned architect Edward Durell Stone.

“We are excited to invite the community to celebrate this building that is an important example of Midcentury Modernism and a beloved resource,” Library Director Monique le Conge Ziesenhenne said in a city news release.

The July 29 event will include a presentation from Group 4 Architecture on the challenges of renovating the classic library design to preserve Stone's vision while modernizing key functions and spaces, city officials said.

Rinconada Library is also marking the occasion by featuring a specially-curated exhibit of Stone's architectural works — Palo Alto City City Hall and Stanford Medical Center among them — through August.

The anniversary celebration coincides with the Palo Alto City Library's Summer Reading Program “re:Make Your Community." The Library's celebration of the restoration and modernization of the Rinconada Library perfectly exemplifies this theme. Renovation work included four group study rooms, the Embarcadero program room, and a new lobby. Building system upgrades included a ground source heat pump system, structural brace frames, radiant floor slab in the library and lobby addition, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and energy-efficient lighting and LED lighting. The work began in 2014 and was completed in 2015, city officials said.

Registration is required for the July 29 event and can be done so via the library's website.

Photo via City of Palo Alto