On January 29, 2000, the new Wallingford Branch, The Seattle Public Library opens at 1501 N 45th Street on the ground floor of the Fremont Public Association Resource Center. This is the second branch opened as part of "Libraries For All," a $196.4 million bond issue passed by Seattle voters in 1998.
Wallingford got its first branch in 1948, when Alice Wilmot Dennis donated her home at 4422 Meridian Avenue N for use as a library. Dennis stipulated that the building be used as a library for 30 years and be named in memory of her sister, Florence Wilmot Metcalf. The library remained there for 36 years, then moved into an old fire station on N 45 Street at Densmore Avenue N, where it rented space from the 45th Street Community Health Center.
The new Libraries For All branch featured 2,000 square feet of space with 14-foot ceilings. Mayor Paul Schell (1937-2014) was on hand for the opening.
Sources:
Jack Broom, "New Wallingford Library Presents Users With A Bright, Storefront Atmosphere," The Seattle Times, January 30, 2002, p. B-1; Sally MacDonald, "Wallingford's Library Needs New Home," Ibid., January 5, 1993, p. B-3. Note: This essay was updated September 10, 2008.
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