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Doors Open California 2025, Unlocking the State’s Hidden Historic Treasures: Malaga Cove Library
September 13, 2025 @ 10:00 am – 4:30 pm PDT
For the second year in a row, Palos Verdes Library District’s historic Malaga Cove Library is a featured site of Doors Open California (DOC), a special program sponsored by the California Preservation Foundation.
The Malaga Cove Library, Myron Hunt’s 1929 Mediterranean Revival landmark—flanked by Olmsted Brothers-designed gardens—was the Peninsula’s first civic building. The reading room’s hand-stenciled beams echo local kelp forests, while original leaded-glass windows cast dappled light onto terrazzo floors. The adjacent Malaga Cove Plaza Historic District (National Register-listed) features its iconic tile fountain, where early residents gathered after library lectures. Docents highlight Hunt’s design quirks, renovations and hidden rooms. Ask about the library’s original 1929 card catalog—still intact—which lists titles like ‘California Gardens’ by Lockwood de Forest, reflecting the Peninsula’s horticultural obsession.
Available on September 13 only. This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.
Visit californiapreservation.org/doca for information about other DOC sites in the state and for updates, photos and giveaways. Other DOC sites may require registration or fees. Use the coupon code SPECIALGUEST for discounts.
