White brick fired in Boise and sandstone from Table Rock face the Carnegie Public Library, a Neoclassical design by Tourtellotte & Co. built in 1904–1905. This is the result of a 1904 Carnegie grant after Boise's public library began in 1895 when members of the Columbian Club opened a subscription library and reading room in Boise City Hall. Local architects John E. Tourtellotte and Charles F. Hummel won the design contract and the local firm Michels & Weber handled construction.
Materials are local: white brick fired in Boise and sandstone from nearby Table Rock. The library opened June 22, 1905, with Mary F. Wood as its first librarian. It served the city until the Boise Public Library moved in 1973 to a larger building at 715 S. Capitol Blvd., formerly occupied by Salt Lake Hardware.
In 1974 this building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1982 it became a contributing property in the Fort Street Historic District. After years housing a law firm, the building was repurposed in 2018 for artists as studio space. Mary Wood opened its doors as first librarian on June 22, 1905, and since 2018 artists have worked in studios behind this white brick and Table Rock sandstone.