🏢 Multnomah County Library — Portland, Oregon

North Portland Library

A 1913 Carnegie library on North Killingsworth Street, the North Portland Library reopened in 2025 after a voter-funded bond renovation that added a new Black Cultural Center while preserving its century-old open-beam ceiling and bas-reliefs.

📖 About North Portland Library

North Portland Library opened on February 20, 1913, one of the branches built with funds the Carnegie Corporation of New York donated to Portland in 1912, on land given by neighborhood residents. Designed by the firm Jacobberger & Smith in a Jacobean style, its interior is distinguished by an open-beam ceiling and bas-reliefs. The branch has long served North Portland's diverse community, and in 1987 a wing was dedicated to African-American works. As part of the $387 million capital bond approved by Multnomah County voters in 2020, the roughly 9,500-square-foot building was renovated and expanded, reopening in 2025 with about 1,500 additional square feet. New features include a Black Cultural Center, an early learning space for children, an outdoor community area, updated technology, and new community-focused artwork.

⭐ What makes this branch special

• A 1913 Carnegie library, designed by Jacobberger & Smith, built on land donated by neighborhood residents
• Reopened in 2025 after a 2020 bond renovation that added about 1,500 square feet
• New Black Cultural Center building on the branch's long history of serving North Portland
• Historic interior with open-beam ceiling and bas-reliefs preserved through the renovation

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