Renovated Historic Building Is Site of New Community Center

The long-awaited Veterans Park Community Center in Redondo Beach has finally opened in the landmark library building.

The oceanfront center is housed in the 60-year-old Redondo Beach Historic Library Building in Veterans Park, a Spanish colonial-style building that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

According to Paula Matusa, a spokeswoman for the city, the building has been under renovation for five years to convert it from a library to a community center. In 1991, the city received a $10-million grant from the state to open a larger library elsewhere.

Matusa said the building, which was damaged in the 1991 Sierra Madre earthquake, was upgraded and renovated to be used as a community center with a function area and several meeting rooms. The quaint building, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, has a stucco exterior, arch doors and windows and decorative ironwork in addition to some Dutch ornaments.

“This is such a beautiful building and it really didn’t work well as a library because it was too small for all the books,” Matusa said.

“It will make a wonderful community center.”