![\"Occidental](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Occidental-building-Seattle.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Seattle Public Library<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nIn 1890, Seattle officially launched its\u00a0city-sanctioned library system. The Central Library’s first home was located on the fifth floor of the Occidental Building in Pioneer Square (pictured above). According to library records,\u00a0a lumber company vice president borrowed its first book, a brand new copy of Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad.<\/p>\n
Yesler Mansion Central Library, ca. 1899 – 1901<\/h2>\n
In 1899, the Central Library moved into what was supposed to be a more permanent\u00a0home at the Yesler Mansion at 3rd Avenue and James Street. At that time, circulation rose by 26 percent and\u00a0over 130,000 volumes were available to\u00a0the public.<\/p>\n Less than two years later in 1901, the entirely wooden structure was destroyed in a\u00a0fire. Along with the building, most of the library\u2019s collection was also lost.\u00a0Days after the blaze, noted philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated $200,000 so a new library could be built. In 1902, the city agreed to purchase land for a new space at a cost of $100,000.<\/p>\n The new library site\u00a0was located along 4th\u00a0Avenue and Spring Street in downtown. The city held a worldwide architectural competition to help design the Carnegie-backed building. In 1903, a German architect named Peter J. Weber won the contest\u00a0with his Beaux-Arts design.<\/p>\n The Weber-designed\u00a055,000-square-foot library was dedicated in 1906. Due to the project\u2019s popularity, library membership climbed\u00a094\u00a0percent and 50\u00a0percent more books were\u00a0borrowed.<\/p>\n But by\u00a0the time\u00a0World War II ended, the aging and busy Central Library was again in need of significant upgrades. In 1949 it would receive a $400,000 book stack addition, but that wouldn’t be enough — an all-new structure\u00a0was needed.<\/p>\n In 1957, Bindon & Wright were tapped to design a new $4.5 million Central Library building on the same downtown site as its Carnegie predecessor.<\/p>\n The\u00a0second, purpose-built Central Library building was dedicated on March 26, 1960. The mid-century structure boasted modern features over five spacious floors, including the first escalator in an American library, a drive-up window for book pick-ups and the first extensive use of artwork\u00a0to grace a new public building in Seattle.<\/p>\n By the mid-1990s, library circulation had soared past 5\u00a0million items and\u00a0annual donations topped $1 million. A strong economy fueled by the\u00a0dot-com\u00a0era emboldened\u00a0Seattle voters to approve\u00a0a $196.4 million \u201cLibraries for All\u201d bond measure in 1998 that made another new Central Library building\u00a0possible.<\/p>\n This time Seattle called on Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and local\u00a0firm LMN Architects to design the space. In 2001, the Central Library collection was moved into a temporary space at the Washington Convention Center.<\/p>\n In May 2004, the new Seattle Central Library opened its doors to the public. The 362,987-square-foot structure held 11\u00a0floors with a community space on each. The total cost of the project,\u00a0including the temporary move, was\u00a0just shy of $166 million.<\/p>\n Three different purpose-built branches have served as library headquarters since the book-borrowing system first launched back in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":133887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11108],"tags":[11105,11131,11175],"coauthors":[8654],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Yesler](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Yesler-Mansion-seattle-libary.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Seattle\u00a0Public Library<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nCentral Library, ca. 1906 – 1957<\/h2>\n
![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Seattle-Libray-1906.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"seattle](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/seattle-library-interior.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Seattle-Central-Libray.jpg\")
<\/a>Photos: Seattle Municipal Archives\/Flickr<\/a>, Seattle Public Library<\/a>,\u00a0Seattle\u00a0Public Library<\/a>,<\/em><\/p>\nCentral Library, ca. 1960 – 2001<\/h2>\n
![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Seattle-Libray.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Seattle-Public-Library-1024x685.jpg\")
<\/a><\/em>Photos: University of Washington Archaeology<\/a>,\u00a0Seattle Public Library<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nCentral Library, ca. 2004 – today<\/h2>\n
![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Seattle-Central-Library-2-1024x631.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: andrewasmith\/Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n