Ketchikan Public Library

Dawson built the 16,859 square foot Ketchikan Public Library atop Copper Ridge, where the reading rooms look out over Bear Valley and Deer Mountain. The facility features multi-purpose meeting rooms, private study rooms, a central circulation desk, fireplace, staff work areas, and a staff lounge, all designed to serve as a true community gathering place. The site's dramatic topography informed every design decision, turning what could have been a construction challenge into the library's most memorable feature.

The Ketchikan Public Library sits atop Copper Ridge as a community landmark, a building where reading rooms look out over Bear Valley and Deer Mountain, where the fireplace draws people in, and where meeting rooms and study spaces give Ketchikan residents a gathering place that belongs to everyone. The dramatic hilltop site that challenged construction became the library's greatest asset. Dawson delivered a facility that serves both the practical needs of a public library and the deeper need for a place where a community comes together.