Edmonds Historical Museum’s renovations looked back to 1910

EDMONDS — The Edmonds Historical Museum reopened Saturday morning after three months of renovations.

The result is not just a newly refurbished museum space, but in some ways a trip back to 1910, when the city’s Carnegie Library first opened in the building.

The museum staff found the original 1910 building layout and specifications and tried to reproduce that as much as possible, museum director Tarin Erickson said.

That includes the hardwood floor of the main story stained with a varnish that matches the original. Curved wall segments with burlap wainscoting follow the original specifications, and the original Tiffany glass “Public Library” sign hangs in the main room.

“We’re thrilled with the results,” Erickson said.

The renovations came at a cost of $45,000 to $50,000, most of which was raised last fall. The museum may seek grant money to cover the balance, she said.

The museum sought to restore as much of the original form of the building as possible.

Built in 1910 as one of 1,679 Carnegie Libraries nationwide, the building was almost immediately co-opted by the city government, which put city offices, the council chamber, the police department and jail on the lower level of the building.

Over the years, city offices spread to the main level, with added walls dividing up the spacious interior into smaller offices. In 1973, the newly-formed Edmonds South-Snohomish County Historical Society moved into the building, the same year the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The renovation restores the original floor plan to the main part of the museum, with the offices replaced by open exhibit space.

Downstairs, a lockable jail cell remains as testament to the building’s other early uses.

Some artifacts were moved off-site to make room for other items.

A schoolhouse exhibit of desks and materials was added last year. It sits in a new alcove where museum staff removed a false wall and discovered some of the original woodwork.

Another new addition is a large Victorian-style doll house that complements the other furnishings from that era.

Other standbys include an elaborate model train set — it isn’t a historically accurate representation of the town, but it’s popular with kids. There’s also a diorama of the town as it was in 1910, built in the 1970s by Edmonds High School students.

The new museum also restores some of the building’s original functionality as a library. Historical society books and photo albums that use to be tucked away into offices are now out and available for public use, Erickson said.

The reopening of the museum coincides with Saturday’s opening of the Garden Market next door, which the museum sponsors.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165 or cwinters@heraldnet.com.

Edmonds museum

The Edmonds historical museum, located at 118 Fifth Ave. N, is open year-round from 1-4 p.m., Wednesdays through Sunday. The Spring Garden Market operates every Saturday in May and June from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the parking lot of the Public Safety Building (250 Fifth Ave. N.), and the expanded Summer Market will run Saturdays June through October along Fifth Avenue N. and Bell Street.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood fully blocks Highway 99

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.