Landmark

Wenatchee World file photo The Carnegie Building served as home of the North Central Washington Museum from 1939 to 1976.

STORY BY MADELINE HAPPOLD

Wenatchee’s Carnegie Building 8 Foothills April 2021

The brick building at the northeast corner of Memorial Park is tiny. So tiny, that five years after it opened as the city’s first library in 1912, it had already become cramped and impractical.

The Carnegie Building now faces the city’s larger, newer library and is home to the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival headquarters. During the annual festival, the food court and entertainment stage are situated

Luke Hollister The historic Carnegie Building at 2 S. Chelan Ave. is the present-day home of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival. The building opened in 1912 as Wenatchee’s first library.

just a stone’s throw from the building.

The city of Wenatchee acquired funding for the building from the Carnegie Foundation, which was bankrolled by steel-industry magnate Andrew Carnegie. It is one of 1,687 Carnegie-funded buildings in the U.S. and one of 44 in Washington state. The foundation provided funds for another 822 libraries outside the U.S.

The two-level building, complete with clay-red brick, large symmetrical windows and white-accented to the tune of Jefferson’s Monticello estate, was designed by architects Blackwell and Baker as a “19th Century Revival.” Construction was completed by contractors Bird and Hobsen.

According to the history books, the Carnegie Foundation offered the city $10,000 to build a library in 1909. The city accepted, selecting the site in Memorial Park in 1910, agreeing at the time to provide $1,000 a year for building upkeep.

The library opened to the public on Jan. 1, 1912, with 1,500 books in its inventory. It was operated by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. The library soon ran out of space, though, and its location was moved from the Carnegie Building in 1939 before taking its current residence at 310 Douglas St in 1959. The Carnegie Building later was home to the local museum until 1976. It then

Luke Hollister Funding for construction of the building came from the Carnegie Foundation, which was established by steel-industry magnate Andrew Carnegie.

Luke Hollister The Carnegie Library is a part of Wenatchee’s register of historical places. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wenatchee World file photo/Don Seabrook Valentin Villa with A1 Asbestos finishes up white trim on the windows of the Carnegie Building as part of a 2019 improvement project.

served as office space before housing the Apple Blossom Festival offices. The Carnegie Building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. F

Sources:

The Wenatchee World archives, Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation