Georgetown Library History

The Georgetown branch of the D.C. Public Library at 3260 R St. N.W. was opened in October 1935. The library was located on the former site of the Georgetown Reservoir that dated back to 1853, when the reservoir was constructed to supply water to Georgetown residents. Demolition of the reservoir began in 1932, with the infilling of the site and construction of the library building taking several years. When the library opened in 1935, the press heralded it as "the pride of the community." The library, designed by D.C. Municipal Architect Nathan C. Wyeth, was funded by a $150,000 appropriation included in the District's Appropriation Act of 1935. Georgetown was the only Neighborhood Library to contain a separate collection on local history, housed in the second floor Peabody Room. The Georgetown Regional Neighborhood Library is located within the Georgetown National Register Historic District designated in 1967.

In 1867, George Peabody, a wealthy merchant and financier who got his start in the District, established a fund for the purpose of building a library in Georgetown. Peabody expressed his wish to donate a gift to residents in a declaration to his selected Board of Trustees:
“Gentlemen: As most of you are aware, I am, and have been for some time, desirous of making some gift which would be productive of some benefit to the Citizens of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, where I commenced business for myself in my early youth. I am persuaded that I can not better do so than by endeavoring to assist them in their own endeavors to cultivate a healthful, moral, and intellectual progress; and therefore give, gentlemen, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to be, by you and your successors, held in trust as a fund for a public library, to be established in the city of Georgetown.”

The library was not established, however, until after Peabody's death. The Board of Trustees of the Peabody Library Association, headed by W.W. Corcoran, invested the money donated by Peabody. It continued to accumulate until 1872, when the board of trustees of the D.C. public schools offered a room in the new Curtis School on O Street opposite St. John's Church. The offer of this rent-free space was accepted by the board, and arrangements were made to furnish the space with books and furniture.

The Peabody Library opened to the public in March 1875. By the early 1930s, Georgetown had outgrown the Peabody Library. Lead by Dorsey Hyde, secretary of the Washington Chamber of Commerce, a library committee and various citizens' associations set out to establish a new public library branch in Georgetown. They were successful in obtaining funds to erect a new library building on the reservoir site, selected because the reservoir was no longer in use. Known as Reservation 325, the land was owned by the federal government, which was willing to donate it for the public library project.

An article dated March 1935 in The Journal of the Education Association praised the site of the new Georgetown branch atop the crest of a hill, stating that its site "...is symbolic of the high purpose of the Public Library as the institution which keeps alight the lamp of learning after formal educational agencies have completed their task." The design and layout of the branch coincided with this concern for adult continuing education. The author maintains that like public school facilities, library facilities should be adequate and meet certain standards. The article also stated the reasons for establishing a branch in Georgetown:

“The Georgetown Branch is one of the most important units in the Public Library's extension program and has been given preference because of the large homogenous population in Georgetown to which none of the existing library agencies gave adequate or convenient service; because of the large number of schools and collegiate institutions in the territory or contiguous to it; and because of the unremitting efforts of its citizens to secure their community library.”

The 1935 District Appropriation Act provided $150,000 for constructing and furnishing the Georgetown building. The Georgetown Branch was designed by the District's Municipal Architect, Nathan Corwith Wyeth, in the Georgian Revival style that dominated public architecture of the period in D.C. Wyeth was an accomplished architect who came to Washington in 1899 after training at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and working in New York with the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings for several years.

In Washington, Wyeth served as the Supervising Architect of the Treasury until 1904, when he joined the Office of the Architect of the Capitol. After a two-year appointment as chief designer, Wyeth opened a private practice designing residences for Washington's elite. The Great Depression ended his lucrative practice in 1934. Wyeth then signed on as the Municipal Architect for the District of Columbia, serving in that capacity between 1934 and 1946.

During his career in Washington, Wyeth designed elegant residences, including the Charles C. Glover Jr., House at 4200 Massachusetts Ave. NW (c. 1913) and the C. Peyton Russell House at 2249 R St. N. W. (c. 908). He championed the Colonial Revival and Georgian Revival styles for the city's public architecture. Included among the many buildings he designed while Municipal Architect are the Municipal Building, Police Court, the Municipal Court and Juvenile Court buildings, which were all designed as a part of the planned Municipal Center at John Marshall Place N.W. during the 1930s. Wyeth was also responsible for the design of numerous school buildings, fire houses and libraries, including the Georgetown (1935) and Petworth (1939) branches of the Public Library, as well as the Library's administrative offices at 499 Pennsylvania Avenue (1942).

Wyeth’s plan for the Georgetown Neighborhood Library was intended to make the most use of space while giving close attention to the interior and exterior design of the building. The exterior was designed in the Georgian Revival style in order to blend with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood. Attention was paid to finishes and details, including the stone and brick details of the exterior and the mahogany trim on the interior. The site lent itself to dramatic landscaping, including the south side reading terrace. The interior, as described before the library was opened, was designed to be functional and inviting:

“The building will be entered from R Street. A broad lobby with a view through the book stacks on to the terrace will welcome the visitor to the first floor. To his right will be the reading or browsing room, a large, pleasant, book-lined room with window seats and an open fireplace, which is balanced by the reference room on the east side of the building. Between them, to the left of the lobby, will be one of the most important rooms in the branch, the young people's browsing room for high school boys and girls.”

The collection of the Peabody Library was transferred to the public branch when it opened. Items relating to Georgetown history became the basis for the "Peabody Room," while other books were transferred either to the branch or to the main library collection. A separate room, still known as the Peabody Room, was established to house the former library's collection of Georgetowniana, including books, maps, photographs, documents, letters, scrapbooks and clippings relating to the people and places of Georgetown. In 1979, the Peabody trustees dissolved its association and turned its collections and assets over to the Public Library with the proviso that the collection remain intact at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library.

The mezzanine was occupied by the librarian's office and a work room, while the second floor contained the children's rooms. The Georgetown or Peabody Room, also on the second floor, was designed to accommodate meetings and lectures as well as researchers. Eva Nelson Gilbert served as curator/librarian of the Peabody Room from the opening of the Georgetown branch in 1935 until 1946. Prior to this, Gilbert had served for 31 years as librarian of the Peabody Library in Georgetown. The Georgetown branch's first librarian was Ralph Thomson, who later went on to serve as assistant librarian of D.C.'s Public Library system.

Local residents and neighborhood associations have long been involved in the improvement and maintenance of the Georgetown Regional Library. The Georgetown Citizens Association, involved in promoting the idea of a library in Georgetown, set out in 1945 to create a park on the library's grounds. In 1956, the Citizens Association provided new trees for the library site. In 1964, the Georgetown Garden Club raised $7,000 for landscaping the site by sponsoring a house tour. Other gifts offered by community members included a record player and records, money to purchase children's books and donations to help keep the library open on Sundays. During the 1970s, the Peabody Library Association donated substantial amounts of money for facility improvements. The Friends of the Georgetown Library provides funds for children’s programs and miscellaneous expenditures and recently provided a personal computer for staff use.

The interior of the Georgetown Regional Library has undergone several renovations, including a modernization program completed in 1976. In 1977, the branch was designated one of four regional branches, meaning it maintained a larger book collection, was open longer hours, and provided administrative coordination and staff support for the local branches. The new regional system was organized in response to fiscal constraints, allowing the library to centralize administrative services and pool its collections.

The Peabody Room serves as the city's only special collection of Georgetown history. The branch’s public services include a community meeting room, children's programs and a monthly book discussion group. The Friends of the Georgetown Regional Library was formed in the late 1970s, and provides support to the library through advocacy, fundraising and volunteer work.