The Belmont Library is a branch of the

Multnomah County Library Multnomah County Library is the public library system serving Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A continuation of the Library Association of Portland, established in 1864, the system now has 19 branches offering books, magaz ...

, located in

Belmont, Portland, Oregon The Belmont Area is a retail and residential district running along SE Belmont St. in the inner Southeast section of Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon in a parallel fashion to the Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon, Hawthorne District, 6 blocks to the ...

. The original library building opened in 1924 and was expanded in 1937 with the addition of a children's room. The brick building had small round windows and large oak tables. Renovations during 1999–2000 nearly doubled the library's capacity. The branch offers the Multnomah County Library catalog of two million books, periodicals and other materials. The Belmont Library features a 24-person capacity meeting room for hosting community events at no charge on a first come, first served basis. A decorative quilt made by residents of the Sunnyside neighborhood is also housed within the building.

History

In 1923, residents of the Belmont and

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

areas of southeast Portland raised funds to construct a library building at East 39th Avenue and Taylor Street (now S.E. César E. Chávez Blvd. and S.E. Taylor Street). The Library Association of Portland paid for the building plans. According to the association president, the Belmont effort was one of the first in Portland during which library users raised funds to erect a branch library building in their own neighborhood. The neighborhood presented the building debt-free to the association in early 1924, and the library opened on March 7, 1924. Federal funds through the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

paid for expansion of the library in 1937. The addition of a children's room and staff work areas increased the building's floor area to . Even so, circulation at the library continued to grow until the floor area was considered inadequate. In 1996, voters approved a bond measure to renovate the county's libraries and to pay special attention to four of them, including Belmont. The branch closed in June 1999 for remodeling and reopened in March 2000. The resulting expansion added to the library's floor area, bringing the total area to . The renovated library can hold up to 20,000 volumes. Self-checkout stations and security gates were installed in 2011 during a minor renovation. Over the years the library has hosted numerous activities, including a children's jamboree, knitting groups, lectures and readings. The building also serves as a ballot drop-off site during elections.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1924 establishments in Oregon Libraries in Portland, Oregon Library buildings completed in 1924 Multnomah County Library Libraries established in 1924 Sunnyside, Portland, Oregon

History

See also

References

External links