At the turn of the century, when the public library system was segregated, the Colored Library Association was organized by eastside civic leaders to provide library services for the east side African-American Community.

In 1929 new facilities were constructed with a $75,000 appropriation from a city bond issue. Mayor C.C. Chambers dedicated the building as the Colored Library Auditorium at its opening in April 1930. The building was renamed the Carver library Auditorium, in honor of George Washington Carver, in 1938. Until the late 1950s, the center was a focal point for educational, cultural, political, social activities for San Antonio's African-American community. Nationally acclaimed artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Paul Robeson, Louis Armstrong, Charlie 'Bird' Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Cab Calloway, and Billy Eckstein performed at the Center. The African-American community, prevented from joining San Antonio's mainstream social, cultural, and educational life by segregation, created its own cultural center.

 

Desegregation, changing housing patterns, and inadequate maintenance of buildings led to closure of the library in the late 1960's. During the next decade a number of eastside civic, social, and political leaders would appear before city officials to encourage restoration of the building. The city's attempt to demolish it in 1973 resulted in a group of clients and employees of the United Citizens Project Planning and Operating Committee (UCPPOC) led by its director, Ms. Nova Hill, to lie down in front of bulldozers until the mayor rescinded the demolition order. After negotiations, the building lease was awarded to Hill and the UCPPOC and renovation finally began.