6. The Spokane Public Library
- Spokane, Washington
(open 9-9 weekdays), 18 S. Cedar St., is a four-story brick structure of neoclassic design, built in
1904 through a grant of the Carnegie Foundation. Preusse and Zittel
were the architects. The library contains more than 150,000 volumes.
Among the exhibits are a page from the Gutenberg Bible, several rare
editions of the Bible, and examples of early printing. The NORTHWEST
ROOM, a section devoted to regional Americana, contains 5,000 volumes
and includes original letters and manuscripts in addition to the journals of early explorers and settlers.
Washington: a guide to the Evergreen state - Page 257.
This is a beautiful Neo-Classical brick and stone building whose cornerstone was laid on September 12, 1904, its construction funded by both Andrew Carnegie and Spokane resident A. B. Campbell, who donated the land. It occupies one city block on the east end of a Historic District known as
Brown's Addition. Its design is the work of the Spokane architectural firm
Preusse and Zittel.
The visual highlight of the building is its entrance, which is centered within a portico supported by four two story tall Corinthian columns made of Tenino sandstone, the same material as employed for the stone foundation. The entry leads to an interior courtyard with tile floor. Most rooms in the two story structure, some with impressively large fireplaces, open to the courtyard or to balconies above.
The building was placed on the National Register in 1982 as a structure of primary importance within the Riverside Historic District.
The Carnegie building housed the Library until 1963, when the Comstock Library (previously the Sears building) opened for business on April 6th of that year. For a time Building No.1 of the Intercollegiate Center for Nursing, the Old Library is now a commercial building occupied by
Integrus Architecture.