State Panel to Consider Adding La Grande Carnegie Library to National Register

The State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation will consider formally listing the La Grande Carnegie Library on the National Register of Historic Places at a virtual meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 19, 2026. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department announced the meeting, and local officials say a listing would open new grant opportunities and allow more extensive restoration of the building’s facade and historic elements.

The nomination is the result of a multi‑year effort led by the City of La Grande. City records show the municipality initially allocated $20,000 in early 2024 to fund the nomination process - half from municipal funds and half from a State Historic Preservation Office grant - though that budget had been reduced to roughly $9,000 by the fall of 2025. While leased to Arts Center East, the building remains owned by the City of La Grande, and city leaders have identified National Register status as a pathway to federal and state preservation funding.

The nomination packet describes the La Grande Carnegie Library as “a strong example of the Carnegie Library typology,” built to the Carnegie Corporation’s recommended “Plan A” layout. The Plan A design features a rectangular floor plan, a central exterior staircase leading to a vestibule and main-floor circulation area, reading rooms flanking the circulation core, and functional spaces located in the basement. The nomination argues the building is significant at the local level under National Register Criterion A for Education and Politics/Government and Criterion C for Architecture.

The library’s operating history and physical condition are part of the nomination narrative. The nomination excerpts note that “the sum was doubled in 1956” and that the facility was removed from local control in 1961, with state funding covering the library from 1961 to 1964 as part of an experimental regional system. By the late 1960s the budget had increased - the county provided $10,000 and the city $37,000 - and by 1973-1974 the budget had grown to more than $81,000. An engineer’s report submitted in 1969 by Gilbert Meigs, described by Greg Anderson of The Observer as having “painted a dismal picture,” documented sagging floors, cracked ceilings, and other signs of structural wear.

If the State Advisory Committee approves the nomination, the next step would be forwarding the nomination to the National Park Service for listing, a designation that can strengthen grant applications for building stabilization and historic rehabilitation. For Arts Center East, which occupies the space under lease from the city, National Register listing could influence decisions about façade work, accessibility upgrades, and long-term maintenance priorities.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has posted the meeting agenda and instructions for public testimony; interested residents should consult the department’s online meeting materials to view the nomination packet and learn how to submit comments before the Feb. 19 virtual hearing. The committee’s decision will shape funding options for restoring a locally significant Carnegie building and clarify preservation responsibilities for the City of La Grande and its arts tenant.