The Coronado Public Library & Oz Windows
A Century of Civic Literature, Spreckels Architecture, and L. Frank Baum’s Stained-Glass Emerald Paradise
Located at 640 Orange Avenue, the Coronado Public Library is far more than a municipal book repository: it is the crown jewel of Coronado's intellectual and artistic soul. From its 1890 beginnings in an alcove of Hotel del Coronado to John D. Spreckels' 1909 neoclassical monument and its radiant Wizard of Oz stained-glass installation, the library preserves the authentic story of the Crown City.
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Early 1905 postcard of the classical Coronado Beach Library, which today houses rare first-edition Baum works and nine luminous stained-glass panels.
1. The Gilded Age Reading Room in Hotel del Coronado (1890)
In early 1890, while Coronado was still an unincorporated settlement of dust and timber, the wives of the founders, most prominently Mrs. Hampton L. Story and Mrs. Elisha Babcock, formed the Coronado Library Association. Convinced that a civilized community required public access to great literature and philosophical treatises, they organized book drives across San Diego and the Midwest.
Hotel del Coronado donated a ground-floor wood-paneled room off the main lobby, and on March 1, 1890, the library opened its doors with exactly 243 donated volumes. Wealthy winter guests mingled with village schoolchildren, checking out volumes of Shakespeare, Dickens, and American history.
When the City of Coronado formally incorporated in December 1890, the municipal trustees voted unanimously to assume custody of the collection, establishing the first municipal public library in San Diego County outside the city of San Diego itself.
2. John D. Spreckels and the 1909 Neoclassical Palace
By 1908, the library collection had grown to over 5,000 volumes, overflowing its rented storefront quarters on Orange Avenue. Sugar magnate John D. Spreckels stepped forward with characteristic generosity: he purchased two prime lots at the corner of 6th Street and Orange Avenue, deeded the land to the city, and underwrote the entire construction cost of a permanent library building.
Spreckels hired his trusted master architect, Harrison Albright, who had just completed the Spreckels Mansion on Glorietta Bay. Albright designed a dignified neoclassical Greek temple constructed entirely of reinforced concrete to ensure complete fire and earthquake resistance following the 1906 San Francisco tragedy.
When the building was formally dedicated in March 1909, it featured soaring plaster ceilings, skylit central reading rooms, Roman Doric columns, and customized quarter-sawn oak reading tables where Coronado citizens could read quietly beneath filtered daylight.
3. The Wizard of Oz Stained Glass Windows (2005)
Between 1904 and 1910, author L. Frank Baum resided in Coronado during the winter months, renting a charming yellow bungalow at 1101 Star Park Circle. He loved the Crown City passionately, writing in poem that Coronado was "The Queen of Fairy Land." Here, Baum composed three canonical Oz books: Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908), The Road to Oz (1909), and The Emerald City of Oz (1910).
During the library’s major 2005 modernization and expansion designed by M.W. Steele Group, the city commissioned celebrated stained-glass artisan Brenda Schneider to immortalize Baum’s legacy.
Dorothy, Toto, and the golden winding road departing from Munchkinland beneath blue skies.
Towering jewel-toned emerald spires inspired directly by the architecture of Hotel del Coronado.
The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion united on their quest for brains, heart, and courage.
4. Alfredo Ramos Martínez: The 1938 Fresco in the Winn Room
In addition to its literary treasures, the Coronado Public Library houses one of the finest public art treasures in North America: the monumental 1938 fresco "La Flor del Maguey" by Alfredo Ramos Martínez, universally acclaimed as the father of modern Mexican muralism and the mentor of Diego Rivera.
Originally commissioned for the private ballroom of a prominent oceanfront estate on Coronado’s Ocean Boulevard, the colossal 10-foot-high tempera-on-plaster mural depicts indigenous Mexican women gathering maguey cactus blossoms with breathtaking dignity, subtle earthy palettes, and serene architectural lines.
When the private estate was sold for redevelopment in the late 1960s, community preservationists and library trustees rallied to save the fresco. Master conservators painstakingly detached the entire plaster wall, reinforced it with a steel chassis, and permanently mounted it in the library’s Winn Community Room, where it remains on free public display today.
Frequently Asked Questions: Library & Oz Heritage
Why does the Coronado Public Library have Wizard of Oz stained-glass windows?
Author L. Frank Baum spent winters in Coronado between 1904 and 1910, writing three of his beloved Oz books here and calling Coronado 'The Queen of Fairy Land.' To honor his immortal literary connection, the library commissioned artist Brenda Schneider in 2005 to craft nine radiant stained-glass windows depicting iconic Oz characters and the Emerald City.
When was the Coronado Public Library founded?
The library was established in 1890 by the pioneering women of Coronado, led by Mrs. Hampton L. Story and Mrs. Elisha Babcock. It began as a modest reading room inside Hotel del Coronado with 243 donated hardcover volumes.
Who funded the permanent 1909 Coronado Public Library building?
Sugar magnate John D. Spreckels donated the land and the entire construction cost in 1908. He commissioned renowned architect Harrison Albright to design a reinforced-concrete neoclassical building with classical Greek columns, which opened in March 1909.
Does the library hold original first-edition Oz books?
Yes. The library’s Special Collections Department preserves rare first-edition printings of Baum's Oz books, historical photographs of Baum at his Coronado cottage, and the celebrated 1938 fresco 'La Flor del Maguey' by Mexican master Alfredo Ramos Martínez.