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The Central Coast
boasts some of the
most breaktaking
views and sunsets in
California
T
he earliest human inhabitants of
the local area were the Chumash
peoples. One of the earliest villages
lies south of San Luis Obispo, and
reflects the landscape of the early
Holocene when estuaries came farther inland. These Chumash people
exploited marine resources of the
inlets and bays along the Central
Coast and inhabited a network of
villages including sites at Los Osos
and Morro Creek.
San Luis Obispo was also a popular
stop on both U.S. Route 101 and
California State Route 1 with the rise
of car culture. Due to its popularity
as a stop, it was the location of the
first motel, the Milestone Mo-Tel.
Among San Luis Obispo’s historical buildings is the former San Luis
Obispo Carnegie Library, located
at 696 Monterey Street. The San
Luis Obispo Carnegie Library was
built in 1905 with a grant of $10,000
from Andrew Carnegie, who funded
the establishment of 142 California libraries in the early 1900s. The
Romanesque style building was designed by architect W. H. Weeks of
Watsonville, California and was built
by contractor Joseph Maino of San
Luis Obispo.