Capitol Hill

Word on the street is the new Sound Transit light rail station on Capitol Hill is boosting foot traffic (the best kind!) in that already bustling area of our city. Light rail's arrival also makes travel to the Capitol Hill branch library easier than ever before, since they're just four blocks apart.


At a time of year when you might rather be outdoors than inside, you can get a feel for both in the Capitol Hill branch. Vines climb up a stainless-steel support structure outside the library's Republican Street entrance and inside the building as well. At the south wall, a bank of blinds is programmed to open and close automatically as lighting conditions change. (John, a librarian here, explained that this also helps keep library lights from disturbing the apartment dwellers next door. He also recommended that I be sure to check out the green roof at the Ballard branch. It's on my list!)


The Capitol Hill branch is not far from the Bullitt Center, one of the world's greenest buildings. I have no idea whether that landmark building took any design cues from the library, but the Bullitt feels like an amplification of the library's spirit as explained on the branch website: "The vertical garden combined with the hard urban shell of the building are symbolic of a balance that is sought between the natural world and our urban environment. The vines soothe the eye, clean the air and help stitch together these disparate aspects of our city."

As you might expect on densely populated Capitol Hill, this is a well-used library. The prime perches would have to be the few window seats complete with cushions on the building's east side, but they're hard to come by. So I took a seat near the door and enjoyed the natural light spilling in from above the entrance.