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NEW REGIONAL LIBRARY BUILDING REPLACES CARNEGIE BUILDING

Bringing together Yakima's city and rural libraries proved to be a very successful strategy. Services provided by the combined library system, known as Yakima Valley Regional Library, were so popular that library headquarters had outgrown the Yakima Carnegie building by the mid-1950's. The Board of Trustees and library administrators began planning for the next phase of growth - replacing the Carnegie building. Follow the links below to learn what it took to design the new building, find the money and get approval for the project, move out of the Carnegie for demolition, and finally, move into the modern, new Yakima Valley Regional Library headquarters.

  [1953] Report written just as the idea of need for a new building was emerging YVRL Report
  January 30, 1955 Report showing growth of the library 1950 - 1954 YVRL Report
  September 25, 1957 Plans for a new building are approved Yakima Sunday Herald
  November 6, 1957 A copy of the program prepared for the 1957 ground breaking ceremony for the Yakima Valley Regional Library Building. YVRL document
  July 24, 1958 A list of 23 items that local officials selected as historically representative of their time, and then sealed within the library cornerstone as a time capsule. YVRL document
  January 6, 1959 A floor plan showing the layout of the main floor of the Yakima Valley Regional Library building when it opened its doors in 1959. Yakima Daily Republic
  January 11, 1959 Information sheet about the (1959) new building YVRL Report
  January 11, 1959 Opening day in 1959 for the new building Yakima Daily Republic
  January 11, 1959 A description of all the work and organization required to move into Yakima Valley Regional Library's brand new (in 1959) downtown facility. A side bar explains how library board members were appointed and what their responsibilities were at that time. Yakima Sunday Herald
  1959 1959 report to the community with information on how the regional library operated, the services provided, and service locations. YVRL Report
 

January 11, 1959

 

 Program for the 1959 dedication ceremony of the Yakima Valley Regional Library building at 102 N Third Street in Yakima, Washington. YVRL document
   

 

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