The Douglass-Truth Branch is a library building and

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

branch in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States. Originally called Yesler Memorial Library, it was renamed after

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

and

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...

in 1975. The library houses the West Coast's largest collection of

African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. Phillis Wheatley was an enslaved African woman who became the first African American to publish a book of poetry, which was publis ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. In 2001, the library was designated a Seattle Historic Landmark by the city.

Early history and architecture

Former Seattle mayor

Henry Yesler Henry Leiter Yesler (December 2, 1810 – December 16, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and a politician, regarded as a founder of the city of Seattle. Yesler served two non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Seattle, and was the city's wealthiest ...

and his wife Sarah donated land at 1st Avenue and Yesler Way for the city to build a library. The land was too small to build a library, so the library board sold the land and used the proceeds to purchase a parcel on 23rd Avenue and Yesler Way. Architects Harlan Thomas and Woodruff Marbury Somervell designed the building in an Italian Renaissance style and was covered with buff tapestry brick, terra cotta trimmings, and a roof of red mission brick. On September 15, 1914, the Henry L. Yesler Memorial Library opened, with mayor

Hiram Gill Hiram C. Gill (August 23, 1866 – January 7, 1919) was an American lawyer and two-time Mayor of Seattle, Washington, identified with the "open city" politics that advocated toleration of prostitution, alcohol (drug), alcohol, and gambling.David ...

as the guest of honor. The library cost around $40,000 to construct, and it was the only branch at the time paid by city funds and not a gift from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

. The library was popular in the area, especially for Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia and Japanese immigrants. By the 1930s, the library was home to the library system's Yiddish, Hebrew, and Japanese collections and featured books in 13 languages. The Japanese collection was removed after the Pearl Harbor bombing, and the Yiddish and Hebrew collections were removed in the 1960s. Through the 1940s and 50s, the library updated its collection to try and accommodate the influx of African Americans who moved into the Central District after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

African American Collection and renaming

In the mid-1960s, the central library administration threatened to close the Yesler Library due to declining circulation and turn the library into support for the bookmobile. In 1965, the local chapter of the

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

sorority, Black Friends of the Yesler Library, and community members established the Negro Life and History Collection, now called the African American collection. The community groups collected donations and asked people to donate African American works held in private collections. Council member

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...

ensured that $46,000 was appropriated to the collection, and by 1969, a third of the library circulation was African American literature and history. Today, the collection holds more than 10,000 items, including literature, art, and other historical items. '' Soul Pole'' was donated to the library by the Rotary Boys Club in 1972.. The Soul Pole was carved from a telephone pole by members of the Rotary Boys Club in 1969. Its meant to represent 400 years of African American history and injustice. On December 5, 1975, mayor Wesley C. Uhlman proclaimed that the library was renamed to the Douglass-Truth Branch in honor of

Abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

leaders

and

. The name was chosen because Douglass and Truth received the same number of votes from the community in a contest.

Renovations

In 1987, the Douglass-Truth Branch underwent a $790,000 renovation using funds from a 1984 bond levy. In 1998, Seattle voters approved the $196.4 million Libraries for All levy to remodel all existing libraries, build an additional five branches and build a new central library. The architect firm Schacht-Aslani Architects produced different designs but focused on not overwhelming the existing library or its architecture. The architects suffered through a "personal battle" in the remodel but made a "heroic effort" to consider all possibilities. The remodeled library opened on October 14, 2006, costing roughly $6.8 million. The expansion was primarily sub-terrain, with a 7-ton curving steel staircase and a modern glass corridor. The firm also hired a paint archaeologist to locate the exact beige color of the original library.

References

External links

* {{Seattle Public Library Buildings and structures in Central District, Seattle Library buildings Seattle Public Library

Early history and architecture

African American Collection and renaming

Renovations

See also

References

External links