LOGAN HEIGHTS — Where Elia Abendano grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico, books were a rare commodity and the closest high school was 15 miles away.

“It was impossible to read, to get an education, a formal education,” she said.

When she was in her 20s, she moved to Logan Heights where she discovered the library.

“There was so much to read,” she said. “And it was all free.”

Soon, Abendano started bringing her children. In the bookcase-lined walls of the Logan Heights library, she found more than books. She found opportunity.

These are the kinds of stories people shared at the 100th birthday celebration of the San Diego Public Library Logan Heights branch Sunday.

Hundreds of people gathered at the South 28th Street address to celebrate the history of a library that, over a century, became the heart of a community.

“They come to the library because… they feel welcome here,” said Gracia Molina de Pick, one of the library’s benefactors and a speaker at the event. “Libraries, for most people, are a little foreign… But libraries can also be like this place. A place where families can come, a place right in the heart of the community, a place they can walk to.”

Attendees were encouraged to explore the 25,000-square-foot space. An Aztec Blessing Ceremony kicked off the party. Music and dance performances included a show from members of the Teen Music Program. The program pairs at-risk teens with free music lessons and chances to perform — just one of many classes designed to meet the needs of the community, said Eileen Labrador, the library’s branch manager.

“To the people in this community, it’s a place where they can have equal access to resources, information and programming,” she said of the library. “This place represents a place of ownership and pride.”

The San Diego Public Library Logan Heights branch first opened its doors in a rented building on 28th Street and Marcy Avenue, said Pedro Moreno, president of the Friends of the Logan Heights Branch Library.

“The people living in Logan Heights wanted a library,” he said.

It soon outgrew the space and moved to another rented building at 26th Street and Logan Avenue two years later.

In 1927, a 3,967-square-foot library was built at Logan Avenue and 28th Street at a cost of $17,840 — including furniture.

It would take 82 years for a new library to be built, but people wanted one long before its construction date, said former San Diego City Councilman Ralph Inzunza. He said this quickly became clear, along with the character of the community, while he and others walked door-to-door in Logan Heights.

“When you’re walking Logan Heights, you don’t have to pack a lunch, you don’t have to bring a drink,” Inzunza said. “… because two or three times you’re going to be invited inside.”

He joked that, invariably, two or three bites into delicious lunches or desserts offered to him, his host would ask him about the library and what could be done to improve it.