Built in 1912 as a Carnegie library for the city of Salem, the building now houses several programs of Willamette University College of Law.

Prior to the law school's moving into the facility in 2008, the building was used by the adjacent Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) from 1971 to 2006.

Willamette purchased the old library in 2003 and later selected the College of Law as the program at the school to gain use of the building.

After the brick-faced, Beaux Arts style structure was remodeled, community oriented programs from the law school relocated to the renamed Oregon Civic Justice Center.

[2] On September 12, 1912, the new library opened on the property near Willamette University and the Oregon State Capitol, though construction on the structure was not completed, and much of the furniture had not been installed in the building.

[2][4] The completed structure included hardwood floors, crown molding, windows that were two stories tall, and a fireplace.

[12] Other renovations included new heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, upgrades for technology, all while retaining the historical look and feel of the original 1912 building.

[4] On September 12, 2008, the building was re-dedicated exactly 96 years after the original dedication in a ceremony featuring sitting Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

[4][14] The Beaux Arts style brick structure includes a portico on the State Street entrance on the north side.

[4][5] The façade includes an inscription, "PUBLIC LIBRARY", in Roman type over the entryway, which is sheltered by a rigid metal awning on this north front.