The Douglass-Truth Branch’s ‘Soul Pole’

The Soul Pole is a 21-foot totem-pole-like sculpture that has stood tall at the Seattle Public Library’s Douglass-Truth Branch in the Central District for almost 50 years, representing 400 years of African American history. But due to age and exposure to the elements, the historic sculpture began presenting a public safety hazard and was recently taken down for inspection and possible restoration. The Library knows how important the Soul Pole is to our community. It’s important to us, too, and we’d like to keep you up to date on the project at www.spl.org/SoulPole. The Library is also looking to find and contact the sculptors of the Soul Pole, who were teens at the time it was carved in the late 1960s and were likely Garfield High School students. You can read about its history in this press release. If you have questions or information to share, please contact Andrew Harbison, interim director of Library Programs & Services, at Andrew.Harbison@spl.org.