After a years-long effort to save Fullerton’s Hunt Branch Library, once a hub of the West Fullerton neighborhood where it is situated, the re-vamped Hunt is days away from re-opening.
The 60-year-old building on Basque Avenue, designated a local landmark in 2018 and placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 2019, closed as a library branch in 2013 due to a variety of issues, most notably a lack of funding. But this weekend, a grand re-opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, featuring tours of the renovated space, live entertainment, food trucks and booths providing information on city services and other resources.
The building, recognizable by its flat roof and windowed façade, was designed by architect William Pereira and built with a $500,000 gift from the Hunt Foods and Industries Foundation.
Thanks to partnerships with local community groups, including the Fullerton School District, OC United and North Orange County Continuing Education, the re-vamped facility will offer a variety of community services, said Amanda Arbiso, the city’s parks and recreation manager. It will also resume offering some library services and will be available to rent for events.
City run programs for children will include the Little Learners Club, for toddlers ages 3 to 5; Art Around the Clock; Wonder Wednesdays for children of all ages; and Melody Starters, a four-week program providing beginning music instruction for kids.
Weekly exercise, health and wellness and personal development classes will also be offered along with tutoring for children.
“By having these partnerships, we’ll be able to provide a variety of different programs to assist with the physical and emotional health of our community and we’re very excited for all the different programming,” Arbiso said. “The main focus for all of our programming is to be free of charge or low cost to our local community.”
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