Ballard Carnegie Library

About

The Ballard Carnegie Library is a historic Carnegie library in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The institution was preceded by a freeholders' library in the 1860s, which was eventually replaced in 1901 by a reading room organized and funded by a women's group. Various funds including a $15,000 grant were used to create a new library for Ballard, then an independent city. The library opened to the public on June 24, 1904. It was the first major branch of the Seattle public library system after Ballard was annexed by Seattle in 1907, and also employed one of the first African American librarians in Seattle.

The Ballard Carnegie Library remained in use until 1963, when a newer and more modern facility replaced it. After its sale, the old library building housed a variety of private commercial enterprises, including an antique shop, a restaurant and a kilt manufacturer. In 1976 it was nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places by Seattle architect Larry E. Johnson, and formally added to the list in 1979.