The Douglass-Truth Branch is a library in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was first called Yesler Memorial Library but was renamed in 1975 to honor Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. The library has the largest collection of African-American literature and history on the West Coast. In 2001, the city named it a Seattle Historic Landmark.
Early history and architecture
Former Seattle mayor Henry Yesler and his wife Sarah gave land at 1st Avenue and Yesler Way for the city to build a library. The land was too small, so the library board sold it and used the money to buy a larger parcel on 23rd Avenue and Yesler Way. Architects Harlan Thomas and Woodruff Marbury Somervell designed the building in an Italian Renaissance style. The building was covered with buff tapestry brick, terra cotta trimmings, and a roof of red mission brick.
On September 15, 1914, the Henry L. Yesler Memorial Library opened, with mayor Hiram Gill as the guest of honor. The library cost about $40,000 to build and was the only branch at the time funded by city money, not a gift from Andrew Carnegie.
The library was popular in the area, especially among Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia and Japanese immigrants. By the 1930s, the library held the library system’s Yiddish, Hebrew, and Japanese collections and had books in 13 languages. The Japanese collection was removed after the Pearl Harbor bombing, and the Yiddish and Hebrew collections were removed in the 1960s.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the library updated its collection to serve the growing number of African Americans who moved into the Central District after World War II.
African American Collection and renaming
In the mid-1960s, the central library administration said it might close the Yesler Library because fewer people were using it and wanted to use the space for a bookmobile instead. In 1965, the local chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the Black Friends of the Yesler Library group, and other community members created the Negro Life and History Collection, which is now called the African American collection. These groups asked people to donate books and other items about African American history and culture that were kept in private collections. Council member Sam Smith made sure that $46,000 was set aside for the collection. By 1969, one-third of the books checked out from the library were about African American literature and history.
Today, the collection has more than 10,000 items, including books, art, and other historical materials.
The Soul Pole was donated to the library by the Rotary Boys Club in 1972. The Soul Pole was carved from a telephone pole by members of the Rotary Boys Club in 1969. It was meant to represent 400 years of African American history and the challenges faced during that time.
On December 5, 1975, mayor Wesley C. Uhlman announced that the library would be renamed the Douglass-Truth Branch to honor the abolitionist leaders Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. This name was chosen because both Douglass and Truth received the same number of votes in a community contest.
Renovations
In 1987, the Douglass-Truth Branch received $790,000 from a 1984 bond levy to complete a renovation.
In 1998, Seattle voters approved a $196.4 million Libraries for All levy to remodel all existing libraries, build five new branches, and construct a new central library. The architect firm Schacht-Aslani Architects created multiple design options but focused on preserving the look and feel of the original libraries. The architects faced challenges during the project but worked hard to explore all possible solutions.
The remodeled library opened on October 14, 2006, at a cost of about $6.8 million. The expansion included underground spaces, a 7-ton curving steel staircase, and a modern glass corridor. The firm also hired a paint archaeologist to find the exact beige color used in the original library.