Built in 1883, the French Hotel was destroyed twice by fires of the 1880s. Located in the 100 block of South J Street in Tulare, (then Front Street), only the brick facade remained after the last big fire of 1889. The French Hotel finished its days…
The Tulare Free Public Library was established as an act of the city council in 1901. The building was presented to the city by the Southern Pacific Railroad when their shops relocated to Bakersfield, California.