HistoryLink.org

On March 5, 1928, the Rainier Beach Station, The Seattle Public Library opens at 9267 57th Avenue S. The space is rented with contributions from the community. Budgets cuts during the Great Depression will force the library to close the station in 1932. Another branch will not open until 1966.

In the 1920s, the Seattle Public Library operated deposit stations in drug stores on 57th Avenue S near Rainier Avenue S. The last station closed in 1924.

Community groups organized a library committee (all women) under the leadership of Gertrude Earle. The committee lobbied library management and found a storefront near the Rainier Beach interurban stop, which it rented for a year at $20 a month. The money came from donations solicited by community groups. The library provided the services of a librarian three days a week, and books on loan from other branches.

The station closed in 1932 because of budget cuts caused by the Great Depression.

Sources:

"Rainier Beach Library -- Annual Reports," folder, Seattle Public Library Archives.

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You