302 W. Main St., Ritzville, Washington. County/parish: Adams.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places August 03, 1982. NRIS 82004192.
Part of Carnegie Libraries of Washington TR (NRIS 64000892).
1 contributing building.
The Ritzville Carnegie Library, located in Ritzville, Washington, is a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1907 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie and still operates as Ritzville's library. It was designed by the Spokane architectural firm of Preusse & Zittel.
Daniel Buchanan created a library in 1902 when he donated 268 books to the town, and a small library was created above a store. In 1903, the town allocated $1000 toward the maintenance of the library. By 1906, the citizens of Ritzville had convinced Carnegie to help, and he pledged $10,000 toward a permanent library if the town secured and maintained a location for it. At that time, Ritzville was the smallest town in the United States to receive financial assistance from Carnegie for a library. Its basement was used for town council meetings.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75610791