Auburn Public Library (Washington)

Auburn Public Library
Location 306 Auburn Ave., Auburn, Washington
Coordinates 47°18′34″N 122°13′38″W / 47.30944°N 122.22722°W / 47.30944; -122.22722Coordinates: 47°18′34″N 122°13′38″W / 47.30944°N 122.22722°W / 47.30944; -122.22722
Area less than one acre
Built 1914 (1914)
MPS Carnegie Libraries of Washington TR
NRHP Reference # 82004221[1]
Added to NRHP August 3, 1982

The Auburn Public Library is a library building located in Auburn, Washington listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Auburn Carnegie library is a rectangular 2-story brick building with a cast concrete foundation. It has a hip roof with a slight flare at the projecting eaves. The roof is composition tile. The building measures 35 by 50 feet (11 by 15 m), and there is a 4 by 10 feet (1.2 by 3.0 m) extension at the center of the west facade.[2] The extension projects above the eaves. The gable is highlighted with a parapet trimmed with pressed metal. A 12 feet (3.7 m) cast stone entrance arch with two panel doors in the face of the extension forms the main entry.[2] Fenestration consists of long casement windows in front and smaller ones on the sides and in back. Above each is a small fixed window divided by muntins into eight triangular panes.[2]

History

Women volunteers promoted and staffed the early libraries of Auburn. In 1912 the city was promised $9,000 by Andrew Carnegie for a library. It opened in 1914. The land was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Authur C. Ballard, who originally had plated Auburn as the "Town of Slaughter." The donation contained a condition that the land would revert to the original owners when it ceased to be used for a library. The Carnegie building served the community for many years, but it ultimately proved too small to hold all the books and magazines it owned. In 1962 a $225,000 bond issue was approved by the voters and a new library opened in 1964. The proviso about the land being used for library purposes was then discovered and the property reverted to the Ballard family.[2] It is a pure example of the typical Carnegie Library and is in unaltered. The architect made a conscientious effort to incorporate all Carnegie's suggestions for library design, and all the elements of what Carnegie considered important are faithfully represented.[2]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Vandermeer, James H., Auburn Public Library," National Register Inventory—Nomination Form, July 1981, in digital files of National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
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