In 1924, not long after the Washougal Women's Club organized, its members set up a reading room and circulating library in the back of the Carpenter General Store on Main Street. The town's library began as a borrowed corner of someone else's business, and for most of the next hundred years it moved from one borrowed or donated space to another.
On Thursday, October 15, Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries broke ground on a 14,000-square-foot Washougal Community Library at 222 Durgan Street, a few steps off Main. Its design came out of community meetings about what residents wanted to use it for, much of its floor plan goes to rooms for gathering, and more of its money is coming through the library foundation's fundraising than from the library district.
A century of making do
The library's path through town shows how often it moved into whatever space it was offered. Here is the record from FVRLibraries' branch history:
- 1924: A reading room and circulating library in the back of the Carpenter General Store on Main Street.
- 1930: Mrs. Mabel Moody left her house on E Street in her will to serve as a library and clubhouse.
- 1944: The library moved into City Hall at 16th and B.
- 1960: It moved to 20th and B, with 800 square feet of space.
- 1981: Washougal voted to annex to FVRLibraries, and the current city-built library opened.
The 1981 building at 1661 C Street, inside the city's administrative complex, is the one most residents know. FVRLibraries' project page puts it at about 2,300 square feet. That was nearly three times the 1960 space, and the city has kept growing around it for 45 years.
The new building is roughly six times that size. The bigger change is what the extra space holds.
What 14,000 square feet is being used for
Hacker Architects designed the building after several meetings with community members, FVRLibraries, the Friends of Washougal Community Library and the Fort Vancouver Regional Library Foundation, all aimed at identifying the features people wanted. In the FVRLibraries groundbreaking announcement, Laura Klinger of Hacker Architects said, "The design of this library grew directly from conversations with the Washougal community."
Here is what the published plans show, space by space:
| Space | What's planned |
|---|---|
| Lobby | Display shelves, comfortable seating, laptop tables with power, a donor board, and a Friends Bookstore selling gently used books to benefit the Friends group |
| Children's storytime area | Dedicated space for children's materials and storytimes, a hanging acoustic sculpture, and child-sized furniture |
| Teen room | A dedicated room for reading, games and hanging out, with AV equipment and acoustic material |
| Adult area | Seating and tables with charging stations, the service desk, a conference room, two study rooms, and a gallery nook with an art hanging system |
| Community room | A large flexible room with a kitchenette, AV equipment, an art hanging system, and after-hours use |
| Courtyard | A multi-use outdoor space with educational signage and a removable canopy for year-round use |
Compare that list with the single branch on C Street. Alongside the collections, the new building adds rooms for meeting, studying, showing art and hosting events, and it is designed so some of that use can continue after the stacks close. Metal curtains in the lobby let the Community Room operate after hours. The Washougal library began as a club's reading room, and the new building puts gathering space back at the center of it.
The design also gives the building three faces. FVRLibraries' renderings show a view from Main Street, an entry from Durgan Street and an entry from C Street. In a downtown that has been concentrating new activity on a few walkable blocks, the library will face the street where it began in 1924.
Who is paying for it
The project's price is $19.4 million. On FVRLibraries' project page, the split is:
- Fort Vancouver Regional Library District: $9 million
- Fort Vancouver Regional Library Foundation: $10 million raised to date, from:
- The Endeavour Fund: $6 million
- An anonymous donor: $1 million
- Friends of the Library and community supporters: $832,000
- A Washington State grant
The foundation's share is larger than the district's. The Endeavour Fund gift came in July 2026, and FVRLibraries calls it the largest philanthropic investment in the foundation's history. The district's share builds on a public vote. FVRLibraries credits voters' approval last year of its first levy lid lift in 15 years with helping make the project possible.
The $832,000 line traces back to that 1924 reading room. The Friends of Washougal Community Library and individual supporters raised it locally, which keeps this building in the same tradition as the first library on Main Street. People in town organized and paid for it.
The land fits the pattern. The 17,250-square-foot parcel at 222 Durgan Street was donated in 2021, near the existing City Hall complex. Mabel Moody's E Street house reached the library the same way, almost a century earlier.
The last $400,000
At the groundbreaking, FVRL Foundation executive director Jenny Wilkerson launched a "Close the Gap" campaign to raise the remaining $400,000. The project page says gifts of any size go to the foundation, and residents can also join or support the Friends of Washougal Community Library, which helps with fundraisers and library promotion.
The project page also lists the milestones behind the groundbreaking:
- June 2026: Design finalized
- Summer 2026: Permitting and contractor bidding
- Fall 2026: Griffin Construction selected as general contractor
- October 15, 2026: Ceremonial groundbreaking, with construction to begin shortly after
- Early 2028: Expected opening
FVRLibraries also describes the library as part of the City of Washougal's Towncenter Revitalization Project, alongside planned improvements that include an expanded community center, a splash park, a dog park and more public parking. The project page is where FVRLibraries posts updates as construction moves forward.
Until 2028, the library is still on C Street
The 1981 building at 1661 C Street is the branch in use today. Its listed hours are:
- Monday and Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sunday: Closed
The branch phone number is (360) 906-4860, and the Washougal Community Library page lists current programs. The room has more history than its size suggests. It is where the library first settled after Washougal voted to join FVRLibraries in 1981, and it has served the town longer than any of the library's earlier homes.
One date on the downtown calendar falls close to the construction site. The City of Washougal's Lighted Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting is Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Reflection Plaza, 1703 Main Street. For more about the town around the new library, our Washougal neighborhood guide collects the places and routines that shape everyday life here.
A new civic building on Main Street changes how a downtown works long before it opens, and the Durgan Street library is one of the larger changes Washougal has seen in years. If you'd like to talk through what's happening downtown and how it fits the Washougal you know, David Merrick is always glad to hear from neighbors. Let's Connect.