Holgate Library

Holgate Library
Front entrance in 2012
Location within Portland, Oregon
General information
Location	Foster-Powell, 7905 S.E. Holgate Boulevard, Portland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates	45°29′26″N122°34′56″W / 45.49056°N 122.58222°W / 45.49056; -122.58222
Opened	May 19, 1971
Renovated	October 17, 2000, July 13, 2024
Owner	Multnomah County Library
Technical details
Floor area	6,060 square feet (563 m2)
Lifts/elevators	2 (1 staff only)
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Allen, McMath, Hawkins Architects
Renovating team
Architects	Thomas Hacker and Associates
Renovating firm	Andersen Construction Company
Website
Website

The Holgate Library is a branch of the Multnomah County Library, in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. ^[1]

Description and history

The branch offers the Multnomah County Library catalog of two million books, periodicals and other materials. ^[1] Opening on May 19, 1971, it replaced the Arleta and Lents branch libraries, though the area had been served as early as 1904 with a deposit station in a drug store in Lents. ^[2] Renovated in 2000, the building had 6,060 square feet (563 m²) of floor space and held up to 30,000 volumes. ^{[2] [3]} The renovations included seismic upgrades, a new roof, new windows, and a solar-powered electricity back-up system, among other items. ^{[2] [4]} In February 2008, the branch added the county's only teen and children's librarians. ^[5]

Holgate was cited, along with the Midland and Belmont branches, as one of several branches serving the Montavilla neighborhood, when that neighborhood's branch was sold by the county in 2005. ^{[6] [7]}

Construction began on a new two-story home for the library in 2022. The new larger, modernized facility opened in 2024. ^[8]

See also

• Oregon portal

• List of Carnegie libraries in Oregon

References

1. "Holgate Library". Multnomah County Library. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
2. Staff (October 4, 2000). "Multnomah County Library's Holgate Branch to reopen". Daily Journal of Commerce. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
3. "Holgate Library History". Multnomah County Library. November 18, 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
4. Staff (November 13, 2000). "Solar power lights library in emergency". The Daily Journal of Commerce. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
5. Koffman, Rebecca (April 3, 2008). "Neighborhood News Updates". The Oregonian. p. Metro Portland Neighbors, 8.
6. Hsuan, Amy (April 15, 2005). "County Will Sell Former Montavilla Library Site". The Oregonian.
7. Hsuan, Amy (March 16, 2005). "Proposal Calls for Selling Library". The Oregonian.
8. "Holgate Library history | Multnomah County Library". multcolib.org. Retrieved January 21, 2026.