Auburn Public Library (Washington)
Auburn Public Library | |
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| Location | 306 Auburn Ave., Auburn, Washington |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1914 |
| MPS | Carnegie Libraries of Washington TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 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
- Morley, Roberta. The Official Book of the City of Auburn from 1891 to 1976. Auburn, WA 1976.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Vandermeer, James H., Auburn Public Library," National Register Inventory—Nomination Form, July 1981, in digital files of National Park Service, Washington, D.C.