Seattle Public Library
historic place
The Seattle Public Library's origins began on July 30, 1868, with the Seattle Library Association. The city officially established it as a department in 1890. The first public reading room opened in April 1891 in Pioneer Square's Occidental Building. Following a fire, Andrew Carnegie funded a new building. The first dedicated Central Library, a Beaux-Arts structure, opened on December 19, 1906, at 1000 Fourth Avenue. This site has remained the Central Library's home. A second Central Library, in the international style, opened on the same site on March 26, 1960. It included the first escalator in an American library. The current Central Library, an 11-story building, opened on May 23, 2004. This structure was funded by the 1998 'Libraries for All' bond measure. The Seattle Public Library demonstrates a long-standing dedication to public access to information in King County.