Nomination comments due September 17
A hearing for the nomination of the Ballard Carnegie Library building for City Landmark status is set for September 19. We’d like to invite members of the public to join us in supporting this nomination by providing comments to the Landmarks Preservation Board until 5:00 p.m., Monday, September 17. Please direct e-mail comments to kate.krafft@seattle.gov (include ‘Ballard Carnegie Library’ in your subject line) or use the mailing address below.
Individuals who support the nomination are primarily concerned with preserving the building from demolition and physical exterior changes. Ballard Historical Society has supported this nomination and believes the preservation of the Ballard Carnegie Library is important to the historical character of our neighborhood. (Please note that the designation does not apply to any previously-made changes nor does it affect building use; it would serve to protect the building in the future.)
Following are some of the points in support of the nomination, that follow the City’s Landmark designation requirements:
- The library is Seattle’s oldest extant library building, having narrowly escaped demolition at least twice.
- It is one of a few buildings remaining from the City of Ballard (before it was annexed to City of Seattle in 1907).
- The Ballard Carnegie Free Public Library served the community as a library from June 24, 1904 to June 7, 1963.
- Culturally, the Library served as a community cultural and education center for the Scandinavian immigrants who settled here.
If you prefer to mail a letter regarding the nomination, send correspondence to: Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, Dept. of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle WA 98124.
More information: Read the entire nomination (click “Current Nominations”)
At least it is on the National Register of Historic Places (not that this designation saves any of it) Article below from Wikipedia.
The Ballard Carnegie Library, also known until 1963 as the Seattle Public Library – Ballard Branch, is a historic library in the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. The library was predated by a freeholders’ library in the 1860s, which eventually gave way to a reading room that was organized and funded by a women’s group in 1901. With a grant for $15,000, among other funds, a new library for the then independent City of Ballard was created as a Carnegie library. The building, located at 2026 N.W. Market Street in downtown Ballard, opened to the public on June 24, 1904.[1][2] Notable as the first major branch of the Seattle public library system, after Seattle annexed the City of Ballard into itself in 1907, and for employing one of the first African American librarians in Seattle, the Ballard Carnegie Library was in service until 1963, when a newer and more modern facility replaced it. After its sale, the old library building housed a variety of private commercial enterprises, including an antique shop, a restaurant and a kilt manufacturer.[1][2]
After being nominated in 1976 for the recognition by Seattle architect Larry E. Johnson, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1979 (ID #79002535).[3][4]
Thanks for your comment. We did not refer to the Wikipedia article simply because it did not have recent information regarding the nomination process.
Pingback: Important: Join Us November 7 | ballardhistory