In my last column I celebrated the history of Neill Public
Library, which has now been a Pullman institution for over 100 years. For
nearly all of that 100 years, Neill Public Library has also been a vital part
of downtown Pullman, the dynamic and ever-changing heart of Pullman. Throughout
its history, the library has been proud to be a part of the City of Pullman and
especially proud to be a part of downtown.
In its first iteration, Neill Public Library was located in
the Greystone building on College Hill, but quickly moved to the old City Hall
which was located on the current library parking lot location (across from
Porchlight Pizza). But then it hopped around over the years, all within our
small downtown area. After moving out of its City Hall location, it was located
on Grand Avenue in what is now the RTOP building. Later it was in its current
location, but an older building that had previously been the home of Potlatch
Lumber. At one point it was also located in the First National Bank building at
the corner of Main & Kamiaken, now home to Design West Architects.
Many other local institutions made similar pilgrimages
around downtown. In the 1910s, the Post office was located on Kamiaken Street
(then Alder) in the building that now houses Noshies. Not long after, it moved
right next door into a single story building where Hinrichs Trading Company
offices are now located. In 1931 it moved right across Paradise Street to a new
and much larger building, now home to Paradise Creek Brewery. There it remained
for many years, later moving to its current home on South Grand Avenue.
Working at the library, I’ve heard many stories about
downtown Pullman and strong statements on what can and can’t be done downtown.
Looking at these historic photos is a lesson in how often things change, even
when it feels like certain things have “always been this way”. And it’s
fascinating to see how some of the same ideas come up over and over again, even
as things are constantly changing.
For example, Main Street was a two-way street for many
years. Nobody likes paying for parking, of course, so it’s fascinating to see a
1940s photo clearly showing coin-operated parking meters all the way down Main.
Other photos show High Street going all the way through to Main (next to the
Flatiron building, currently the High Street Plaza). I have my doubts about the
safety of a High Street-Main Street-Grand Avenue intersection. On the other
hand, we have photos that show pedestrians walking in all directions through
that intersection at the same- which look much like the all-ways “pedestrian
scramble” intersections you see in some communities today.
To celebrate downtown Pullman and 100 years of Neill Public
Library, we’re working with the Downtown Pullman Association, WSU’s
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, and many others to print dozens
of these historic downtown photos. You’ll start to see some of these photos pop
up in storefront windows around downtown very soon. A very special thanks to
the Friends of Neill Public Library for funding this project.
As you might know, more changes are coming to downtown
Pullman, and we’re really excited to see all the proposed projects on the
“Project Downtown Pullman” webpage and in their very cool storybook, all of
which you can find online. The Pullman City Council is currently scheduled to
discuss many of these projects at their August 9th meeting at 7pm.
Council meetings are always streamed live on Youtube, or you can watch the
recording later at your convenience.
One last note- on the library’s most recent podcast, Downtown
Pullman Association Executive Director Holly Greystone joined us to discuss a
little bit about her own history on the Palouse and the many proposed projects
and improvements for downtown Pullman. You can listen to the Neill Public
Library podcast on the “News” page of our website, or search for “Neill Public
Library” on any of your favorite podcast app or platform.
Dan Owens
Interim Library Director