Historic Walking Tour - Corvallis Benton County Public Library

Significance

The Corvallis Public Library Building is the culmination of years of work by members of the Corvallis Coffee Club, the Corvallis Woman's Club, and other community members. Unlike many other communities of comparable size, Corvallis did not have a Carnegie Library. Funds for the current library were raised solely by the community; an achievement which points to the value placed on the pursuit of knowledge. 

The building is associated with architect Pietro Belluschi, an internationally renown architect. Among Belluschi's designs are the Portland Art Museum and the Portland Equitable Building, both critically acclaimed. Belluschi has served as Dean of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was the recipient of A.I.A. Gold Medalist Award in 1972. 

Physical Description 

Stylistically, the Corvallis Public Library is perhaps best described as Jacobethan although historical detail in general is lacking. The one story library with basement, has a cruciform plan. Above the concrete foundation, variegated brick, in warm brown tones, is laid with rows of stretcher brick alternating with rows of stretcher and header bricks. The cornice is embellished by a brick dentil course below closed eaves. The intersecting parapeted gable roof, which is covered with wooden shingles, flares at the ends. The full-height entry bay is located on the south elevation. The entry, replete with transoms and sidelights is recessed. Today, the original door has been replaced by aluminum frame doors with a single glass sash each. On each side of the door are 5 large sidelights with zinc cames. Three large "transom" sashes are located above the door. The sidelights and transoms retain their original wood frames. Thinner vertically laid brick embellishes the bay. On the main facade, the large rectangular window openings each have three sets of sashes: two sets of fixed sashes above a set of hinged sashes. All windows have zinc cames in a geometric design. Window sashes and frames are wood with heads consisting of segmental brick arches. Recessed slightly, the windows lack exterior surrounds and sills. Prior to the addition on the east elevation, there was an exterior brick fireplace chimney in that location. The interior of the library features trussed fir rafters with each rafter end ending in a wood corbel. 

With the exception of the entry bay, the original portion of the library has not been altered to any great extent. The addition on the east elevation, however, has a major impact since the addition is larger than the original building. Although the massing and volume of the addition are not scaled to the original building, an attempt to blend with the earlier building is seen in the use of variegated brick (colors slightly redder) laid in the same pattern and the extension of the dentil course and roofline. 

Historical Background 

The Corvallis Public Library, completed in 1931, was designed by the architectural firm of A.E. Doyle and Associates of Portland. At that time, the head of the firm and chief designer was Pietro Belluschi, the internationally acclaimed architect. 

The history of the Corvallis Public Library began with the Corvallis Coffee Club, the organization from which grew the Corvallis Woman's Club. At one time, books were kept at City Hall by the club to be lent out. In 1921, the library moved to the old Methodist parsonage on 4th Street. In 1922, the Woman's Club put money down on a future library site. The property chosen was the Holgate property at the northeast corner of 7th and Monroe Streets. This property was next to the Woman's Club Building. Until the library was built, the basement of the Woman's Club Building served as the library. 

In 1930, the city voted a tax of $25,000 for the purpose of erecting a library. The land purchased by the Woman's Club was then deeded to the city. A Library Building Committee was established and the search for an architect was begun. The committee chose the Portland firm of A.E. Doyle and Associates, noting that: 

"The architects named have specialized in the planning of numerous libraries...only recently, one member of the firm spent 15 months in Europe studying library and other public building plans . . . " 
Pietro Belluschi, head of the firm at that time, was the designer of the building. J. Thomsen of Philomath was chosen as the contractor. The landscape committee appointed T. A. Cuthbert, assistant professor of landscape architecture at 0.A.C. to superintend the landscaping. 
Concerning the style of architecture to be used for the new library, the Gazette-Times noted that: 

"...The style of the Corvallis building is a departure from the more or less plain type of building, having more or less a residential style to make the structure harmonize better in the residential district. It is reported that this type of library building is being built more for the small towns than the monumental style." 
The $25,000 library was dedicated on November 22, 1931. The library was described as charming in its architectural style and its interior and exterior arrangement. Initially, the library had 8700 volumes. In 1965, a large addition was built on the east elevation. Portland architects Lewis Crutcher and Charles Johnson designed the addition. 

Sources Consulted

• Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, January 1, 1922.
• Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, January 1, 1923.
• Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, January 20, 1931.
• Gazette Times, Corvallis, Oregon, March 14, 1931.
• Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, November 21, 1931.
• Gazette-Times, Corvallis, Oregon, November 23, 1931.
• Oregon Journal, Portland, Oregon, November 22, 1931.
• Ross, Marion Dean, "The 'Attainment and Restraint' of Pietro Belluschi", American Institute of Architects Journal, Vol. 58, No. 1, July 1972.
• Stubblebine, Jo, The Northwest Architecture of Pietro Belluschi, F. W. Dodge Corporation, New York, 1953.