Escalators in central library through time

Seattle 1912–2017 6 photos of this spot

6 photographs taken at the same spot in Seattle, spanning 1912–2017 — 5 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

The Seattle Public Library's original Beaux-Arts central building, photographed around 1912. Completed in 1906 with support from a Carnegie grant, it served as the city's main library for decades.

Seattle Public Library, circa 1912 The Seattle Public Library's original Beaux-Arts central building, photographed around 1912. Completed in 1906 with support from a Carnegie grant, it served as the city's main library for decades.

Seattle Public Library demolition 1957 Demolition underway at the Seattle Public Library in 1957. The Carnegie-funded building was torn down to make way for a new central library that opened in 1960.

Tsutakawa fountain at Seattle Public Library 1960 Tsutakawa fountain in the plaza at the northeast corner of the then-new Paul Thiry-designed Downtown Seattle Public Library, Seattle, Washington, U.S., 1960. This fountain now sits near the southwest corner of the current library designed by Rem Koolhaas.

Escalators in central library 1960 Escalators in the then-new, now replaced, Downtown Seattle Public Library, Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Welcome ceremony for Army troops returning from Vietnam 1969 Welcome ceremony for Army troops returning from Vietnam, Seattle, Washington, U.S., 1969. Outside the downtown Seattle Public Library. In middle ground is the YMCA.

Pacific Building from Seattle Public Library 2017 Image of the Pacific Building (720 Third Ave., Seattle, WA), from the Downtown Seattle Public Library.