Greenwood and Broadview

I lived eight years in Boise, Idaho, which for a long time was the largest U.S. metro area with no branch libraries. That's one reason I am so pleased to live in a city (and a region) where libraries are plentiful and where they're valued for the public good they provide -- an idea that was on my mind this week when I visited two Seattle Public Library branches that are only a few miles apart, both bustling with people of all ages on a weekday afternoon.

Greenwood

An art-glass window at the Greenwood branch.

With its soaring glass facade, the branch library at at Greenwood Avenue and North 81st Street almost looks like a theater, complete with a coming attractions-style showcase near the front door. (Movies are sometimes shown here: At noon on March 19, there will be a screening of Roman Polanski's version of Macbeth to mark SPL's exhibition this spring of
First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare.)

Once inside the branch, I was impressed by the high ceilings and abundant natural light flooding the space -- especially the east-facing floor-to-ceiling windows that lured me like a moth to the opposite end of the room. Happily, there was a seat available facing the window, so I spent the next hour reading. A nearby quiet room enjoys the same great views with a no-cell-phone rule. One really nice touch is a small patio between these two areas, where any library patron can take a phone call without disturbing others or just catch a bit of fresh air.

The current Greenwood branch is the second library in this location. According to SPL's website, when a previous branch was built on this site in 1954, it was the first new library building to open in the SPL system in 33 years. That building came down in the early 2000s to make room for the new one, which opened in 2005. A fun fact from the website: "The wood on the tabletops in the center of the library all came from the same tree -- an American red elm salvaged from Carnation, Wash. The tables were crafted by Seattle-based Urban Hardwoods, which manufactures products from trees that are diseased or blocking power lines and must be taken down." The branch also features art glass windows by Portland artists Fernanda D'Agostino and Valerie Otani.

My visit to Greenwood came just 12 hours before a natural gas explosion ripped through the neighborhood's commercial area early on March 9. I am thankful that no one was killed or seriously injured. The Phinney Neighborhood Association is raising funds to help business owners and employees cope amid an estimated $30 million in damage.

The Greenwood branch is within a few blocks of one of Seattle's most interesting collection of businesses and nonprofits including the Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas (a.k.a. the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co., an after-school writing salon), Couth Buzzard Books and Espresso Buono Cafe, Taproot Theatre, Seattle ReCreative, and Encore Media/City Arts. It's a lively hive of arts activity and community-building enterprises, and one of the best places in our city to spend a few hours or more exploring and enjoying.

Broadview


After my visit to the Greenwood branch, I took an improv class at Taproot Theatre, had a yummy cup of cocoa at the Chocolati Cafe, then hopped the No. 5 bus northbound to the Broadview Branch library. Once off the bus and looking southwest across the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and North 130th Street, I glimpsed some Native American-inspired art through the corner of the building -- a motif used throughout this handsome branch's interior. The Northwestern themed art is by Marvin Oliver, while a suspended vessel created by Theresa Batty reminded me of a canoe.

The SPL website shares a fun story about library service in this neighborhood. The city bought this land in 1967, but funds intended for construction were instead used to renovate Sicks' Stadium for the Seattle Pilots, who would be the city's first Major League Baseball team. The website recounts: "Outraged Broadview residents vigorously protested -- at one point holding a "read in" at the vacant lot -- but it wasn't until Dec. 15, 1975, that the new Broadview Branch opened and replaced the Oakview Branch." Ironically, the Pilots played but one year, 1969, in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers. It took lots of legal maneuvering and nearly another decade before the Mariners brought big-league ball back to town in 1977.


This expanded version of the Broadview Branch, opened in 2007, won a Design Excellence Award from the Seattle Design Commission for its playful elements and integration of old and new. The commission also noted how the new design created more of a civic presence for the branch, which previously was easy to miss along busy Greenwood Avenue.

As at Greenwood, natural light is abundant at this branch, from small windows near reading carrels on the north and east sides to big windows on the southern wall, near the periodicals. As I traveled between the two on my way out, I passed by the 796.357 shelf -- a reminder that it's almost time for my annual spring baseball book, a tradition that combines two of my favorite things. I'm not sure where I would've stood on the 1960s ballpark vs. branch library brouhaha, but I'm glad Seattle has both the Mariners and a robust network of branch libraries in 2016.