Capitol Hill Branch Highlights
On May 31, 2003, the current Capitol Hill Branch was renamed and opened in the same location where the Henry Branch once was. It has a reading room with glass walls to the north and south, with a vertical garden that allows natural light into the room.
History
Serving Capitol Hill since 1954
The City Council funded the Susan J. Henry branch after library bond failures in 1950 and 1952. Property originally donated for the branch by the Henry family was unsuitable for the library. With permission from the Henry family, it was sold, and the proceeds used to purchase the library branch’s current site. Ground was broken in 1953 and the Susan J. Henry Branch opened in 1954.
Architecture
An urban building
The new Capitol Hill Branch is the fourth project completed under the "Libraries for All" building program.
The building was designed by Johnston Architects and Cutler Architects and built by Summit Central Construction.
Art
Climbing vines over vertical mesh screens
Merging art and architecture, Iole Alessandrini's "Contour" is a green, living wall over the entrance to the Capitol Hill Branch. Both evergreens and vines are supported on a stainless steel frame of mesh screens. The lattice wraps around the building and goes inside to frame the two-story reading room.
Named Spaces
Eulalie Bloedel Schneider Family Reading Area
Eulalie Bloedel Schneider returned to Seattle after living in Geneva, Switzerland for 40 years. Her interests include her children, friends, opera, and cultural and political events. She created a foundation to support economic self-sufficiency. On a personal level, the Reading Area echoes Schneider's celebration of quiet and reflection.
LGBTQ+ Collection
Our Capitol Hill Branch has a collection of over 1,500 books focused on the past, present and future of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
This diverse collection includes fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels, comics, literature, poetry, and biographies, offering a global perspective on LGBTQ+ experiences and topics. While most materials are in English, the collection also features publications in other languages.