Sellwood-Moreland Library, Public library in Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood, Portland, United States.
Sellwood-Moreland Library occupies 4,375 square feet on the ground floor of a mixed-use building at S.E. 13th Avenue and Bidwell Street, a structure that also holds commercial space and 16 residential condominiums. It replaced a 2,204-square-foot building by architect Loyal Lang at S.E. Milwaukie Avenue and Lexington Street, which had been designed for 6,500 items but held 31,200.
The Sellwood Reading Room opened in 1905 in a storefront opposite Sellwood School, the first public library in Multnomah County outside downtown Portland, with 150 books from the Portland Library Association. Renamed the Sellwood Branch Library in 1907, it moved to 570 S.E. Tacoma Avenue in 1909, to 582 S.E. Nehalem Street in 1915 and to 1406 S.E. Nehalem Street in 1931. The community financed its own 2,204-square-foot building by architect Loyal Lang at S.E. Milwaukie Avenue and Lexington Street, opened on September 30, 1965. After 1996 bonds, it moved in 2002 into a mixed-use building at S.E. 13th Avenue and Bidwell Street.
The library's name links two neighbourhoods: founded as the Sellwood Reading Room in 1905, it gained "Moreland" as its service area grew. Its collection began with 150 books supplied by the Portland Library Association, and in 1907 it was expanded to 1,000 volumes and renamed the Sellwood Branch Library.
The branch occupies 4,375 square feet on the ground floor of a mixed-use building at S.E. 13th Avenue and Bidwell Street, with commercial space and 16 condominiums above. It closed in 2025 for interior renovations funded by a 2020 building bond, so check the current status before travelling. The previous building at S.E. Milwaukie Avenue and Lexington Street, opened in 1965, was sold in 2003.
The 1965 building by architect Loyal Lang, at S.E. Milwaukie Avenue and Lexington Street, held 31,200 items when designed for 6,500; it was sold in 2003 for $210,000. The current branch occupies 4,375 square feet of a building that also contains commercial space and 16 residential condominiums.
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