Restore Snohomish’s Carnegie building and remove annex

I am writing to ask the citizens of the city of Snohomish to contact their local city office and council members to state it is time to put our efforts to restoration of the Carnegie Library Building.

This building was built in 1910 to provide a public library for the constituents of Snohomish. We need to be using it again. I like the stated purposes for the future as outlined on the Snohomish Carnegie website that include creating a place for the community to gather, for cultural events, as well as educational and recreational events. The proposal involves removing the current eyesore of the “annex,” an addition to the building that has outlived its purpose to expand the Snohomish library.

The Carnegie is a part of the Snohomish Historic District. The Historic District makes our city a destination. We value our restored homes, our historic downtown. Our tours of historic homes attract tourists and future cultural events at the Carnegie will attract tourists.

Per the website a plan was developed and approved in 2005 and revised in 2011. The Carnegie building was seismically retrofitted for earthquakes in 2013 to ensure the stability of the structure during a natural disaster.

Hard work has been done behind the scenes to preserve this historic resource for 12 years. Let’s take another leap and remove the annex.

Clara Grager

Snohomish