3. Columbia Branch, Seattle Public Library, 4721 Rainier Avenue S:

Columbia City residents included a library in their first public building, a Town Hall built by private subscription in 1891. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation donated $35,000 to build and furnish this Colonial Revival library, completed in 1915. Designed by architects W. Marbury Somervell and Harlan P. Thomas, the library occupied a hilly site, as shown by the steep dropoff to a still-unpaved Rainier Avenue in our historic photograph, taken during construction in 1914. Today, the library is surrounded by gently sloping lawns and clusters of huge maple trees.

Courtesy Cassandra Tate

Courtesy Rainier Valley Historical Society