Gilroy Museum

he Gilroy Museum is housed in the historic 1910 Carnegie Library Building, the result of a $10,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. The classic revival style building was designed by well-known California architect William H. Weeks and stands on a former tennis court, the gift of local benefactress Caroline A. Hoxett. The Gilroy Public Library opened on July 27, 1910, and remained there until 1975, when it moved to its current location at Sixth and Rosanna Streets.

In the mid-1950's, the large dirt-floor room in the basement of the Carnegie Library was remodeled as a community room. It was this room that saw the birth of the Gilroy Museum. Armand White, a member of one of Gilroy's pioneer families and a local history buff, began displaying his collections of memorabilia and historical items here in 1958.

In 1963, the City of Gilroy formally established the Gilroy Museum in the basement of the Carnegie Library Building with Mr. White as its first curator. Since the Gilroy Library moved to its larger quarters, the Museum has had use of the entire building for its collection which consists of over 25,000 items relating to the history of Gilroy and the South Santa Clara County area.