History

The San Gabriel Library was founded in 1915 and moved to its present site in 1967. Soon after, the Friends of the Library was founded. A historical mural was painted in 1984 by award winning artist Robert Freeman, a descendant of the Sioux and Luiseno tribes. The mural portrays life at the San Gabriel Mission showing the padre, a vaquero rounding up cattle and the Gabrielino Indians. The mural serves as the focal point of the library’s spacious open reading rooms.

In 2008, the library underwent an extensive refurbishment and now features a full service elevator for easy access to the upstairs meeting room.