History Built in 1904 as one of the "Carnegie Libraries", this was the first permanent home for Petaluma's public library. The lot was purchased for $2,500 in gold coins. A donation of $12,500 from the Carnegie Library Fund provided most of the $15,443 construction cost. In the early 1960s, a bond election guaranteed the preservation of the old library as well provisions for a new one. A deed restriction requires that this building always remain a library, and today it houses an excellent historical periodicals collection, along with its fascinating displays of Petaluma history.