Huntington Beach's Main Street Library has undergone repairs and updates over its 62 years of existence, but aside from the subtle alterations, the 9,000-square-foot structure has remained substantially the same.
The library was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
It still has its original bookcases, a grandfather clock built by Huntington Beach High School students in 1915 and even sets of tables and chairs from when it opened in 1951.
"They're old, but they're really comfortable and they've held up beautifully," library branch manager Robin Ott said, examining the furniture. "They're not pretty. Some of them have been reupholstered, but some of them have not; they've got the original padding."
Ott, 57, has worked at the Main Street Library since 2002 but has been going to the facility since 1963, when she was in the second grade.
"I can see my little ghost running around here," she said. "When I walk back into that room sometimes, I can just see myself just sitting in there reading."