Central Library, Multnomah County Library’s downtown Portland branch, opened to the public in 1913, during the tenure of Head Librarian Mary Frances Isom. Central Library was designed by renowned Portland architect A.E. Doyle.

This collection of historical Central Library photographs contains images of the building, staff and patrons over the years. It also includes a few photographs of earlier downtown Portland public libraries.

Central Library: Historical Photographs was released to coincide with Central Library’s 100th birthday celebration in 2013.

More information about the history of Central Library is available on the library's website.

Statement about Copyright

Physical rights to the images in this collection are retained by Multnomah County Library. While Multnomah County Library may own the physical photographs that are reproduced in this collection, we may or may not own the copyright to them. In cases where there is information identifying a possible copyright holder for an item, we have made an attempt to contact them and request permissions. However, for many of the items in the collection it is unclear if the item’s copyright is held by Multnomah County Library, or whether the item is subject to copyright protection. In such cases, items are being made available here under an assertion of fair use. Information about copyright for particular items can be found in the “Rights & Usage” field of each item.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. It is the responsibility of any users of this digital collection to determine whether their intended use of an item is acceptable under copyright law.

If you are a copyright holder for an item on this website that is not properly identified, please contact us. When contacting us about an item in this collection, please include the identifier for the item (e.g., MCLHPA0999A).