The Ballard Carnegie Library is a historic Carnegie library in the Ballard neighborhood of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, United States. The institution was preceded by a freeholders' library in the 1860s, which was eventually replaced in 1901 by a reading room organized and funded by a women's group. Various funds including a $15,000 grant were used to create a new library for Ballard, then an independent city. The library opened to the public on June 24, 1904.HistoryLink.org
"Carnegie Free Library in Ballard opens on June 24, 1904."
Retrieved October 9, 2007.

Susan Paynter Susan Paynter (b. Aug. 29, 1945) is an American journalist and writer based in the Northwest who has covered and commented on social issues since the late 1960s. A reporter, columnist and critic for the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' from 1968 to 20 ...

, Seattle P.I
"Earthquake stirs a sense of appreciation"
March 5, 2001. Retrieved October 10, 2007. It was the first major branch of the Seattle public library system after Ballard was annexed by Seattle in 1907, and also employed one of the first African American librarians in Seattle. The Ballard Carnegie Library remained in use until 1963, when a newer and more modern facility replaced it. After its sale, the old library building housed a variety of private commercial enterprises, including an antique shop, a restaurant and a

kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...

manufacturer. In 1976 it was nominated for inclusion on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

by Seattle architect Larry E. Johnson, and formally added to the list in 1979.Larry E. Johnson, AIA, The Johnson Partnership, Preservation Seattle
"My Favorite Seattle Landmarks"
. Retrieved October 10, 2007.National Register of Historic Places.com

Retrieved October 9, 2007.

History

In the late 1860s, when Ballard was a new settlement along the edge of

Salmon Bay Salmon Bay is a portion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound, lying west of the Fremont Cut. It is the westernmost section of the canal and empties into Puget Sound' ...

, a

homesteader Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres * Homestead principle, a legal concept ...

named Ira Wilcox Utter helped create a freeholders' library. In 1901, the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

of Ballard began raising money with fairs and socials for a new reading room on Ballard Avenue, which was moved and expanded several times.Seattle.gov Department of Neighborhoods
"Summary for 2026 NW Market ST NW / Parcel ID 276700960 / Inv # BA003"
Retrieved October 9, 2007. Having decided to build a proper library, the Ballard City Council established a library board in 1903 and applied to the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

for a grant to help underwrite the construction costs. The library was built on a lot of square, which was purchased for $2,100. The costs for the building were raised by local businesses and citizens, with support from the earlier fundraising and book collections of the women's union and a $15,000 grant from Carnegie.HistoryLink.org
"Ballard Branch, The Seattle Public Library."
Retrieved October 10, 2007. When construction was completed, the building included facilities such as a 500-seat auditorium and a men's

smoking room A smoking room (or smoking lounge) is a room which is specifically provided and furnished for smoking, generally in buildings where smoking is otherwise prohibited. Locations and facilities Smoking rooms can be found in public buildings such ...

(the latter of which was later converted into a reading room). Part of the construction work was done by a

chain gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

Initially, the library had a cache of books provided by local residents and schools on standby for the completion and grand opening, as Carnegie's grant did not cover the initial costs of new books. An appeal was made to citizens to donate books and expand the collection. In 1907, the

Seattle Public Library The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the city in 1890. The sys ...

took control of the Carnegie library, when Ballard was annexed by the neighboring city. Early

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n immigrants to the region made up a large proportion of the new facility's users (the Ballard area is noted for its significant historical presence of Scandinavian people). Early in the library's existence, it had a

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

at the entrance to its book stacks, to count the number of book borrowers that passed through.

The Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

"The Library Journal"
October, 1907, Page 466. Retrieved October 10, 2007. Following the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Carnegie Library became the location of various community activities, such as the distribution of information on the ongoing war. It also hosted

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

and

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

classes. In 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, one of the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

librarians in Seattle, Lucille Smith, was assigned to the library. Ballard Carnegie 03

In 1956, Seattle voters approved a

municipal bond A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a Bond (finance), bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal ...

to replace what was by then considered the "inadequate and impractical" library.Kathy Mulady, Seattle P.I.
"West Seattle Library closing -- but just until fall"
December 31, 2002. Retrieved October 10, 2007. The Ballard Carnegie Library was closed in 1963, when a new and larger public library was built in the area. The former library became an antique store. One of the cited reasons for the closure and sale of the library building was a number of expert claims that the building would not be able to withstand earthquakes (which have taken place in the Seattle area at numerous points in its history; the building has in fact survived several quakes in the meantime). From 2003 to 2010 the old library building was home to Carnegie's, a French restaurant. Other businesses it has been home to during the 21st century include Ström and Ström Consulting, offering legal and marketing services to

mental health professionals A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a ...

; and Root Integrative Health, a holistic wellness center. The building is currently owned by Karoline Morrison and her husband, Dennis Beals, and has been occupied by the Kangaroo and Kiwi Pub since 2012.Todd Bishop, Seattle P.I
"New shops line Market Street in Ballard"
December 13, 2002. Retrieved October 10, 2007.Nancy Chaney

Seattle Times, 1 April 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011. The area around Market Street where the building is located is a part of Seattle that has been quickly rising in land value; the area has been compared to Belltown, a growing Seattle neighborhood also being affected by

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

. As the Carnegie Library building is without the City of Seattle's landmark status despite its NRHP status, it is at risk from new development.Lawrence Kreisman, ''Pacific Northwest Magazine''
"Saving Ourselves"
January 14, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2007.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1900s architecture in the United States Ballard, Seattle Buildings and structures in Seattle Carnegie libraries in Washington (state) Former library buildings in the United States Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Library buildings completed in 1904 National Register of Historic Places in Seattle Seattle Public Library

History

See also

References

External links