The Seattle Public Library Foundation has received thousands of generous contributions to the "Campaign for Seattle's Public Libraries." In recognition of their gifts of $50,000 and above, we are pleased to honor the following supporters with named physical spaces in the South Park Branch of The Seattle Public Library.
Guiseppe and Assunta Desimone Reading Area
Giuseppe and Assunta each immigrated to Seattle from Italy in the late 1800s. They met and married in the early 1900s. Their first home was on a farm in the Georgetown area. Shortly after, they moved to South Park where they operated a large truck garden farm and raised their family of five.
In the 1920s Giuseppe Desimone urged the Pike Place Market to become a venue for local farm produce and an opportunity for area farmers, and assumed a major financial and management involvement in the Market. The city of Seattle acquired the Market from the family in the mid-1970s. Today it remains a major tourist and local attraction.
In the mid-1930s, Desimone's concern for the economic growth of our community led him to donate 250 feet of waterfront property on the Duwamish River to The Boeing Co. for $1. This helped to ensure Boeing remained in our area and provided the necessary land for the development of Boeing's Plant 2.
This room is a tribute to the contributions made to the South Park community and our city by the many people immigrating to America.
The Satterberg Foundation Children's Area
The mission of the Satterberg Foundation is to maintain and enjoy the interconnection of its family members and to provide funds to non-profit organizations that enrich and support our communities. The children's reading section of the South Park Branch is a wonderful base for supporting the foundation's mission. All the family grew up savoring libraries and the worlds contained within the pages of books housed there. It is the foundation's hope that the children and families using the South Park Branch will enjoy the same experience.
