Eight women organized the Traverse City Ladies Library Association on July 23, 1869, and their constitution, adopted on July 28, allowed any lady to join the library for a dollar. It cost 25 cents each quarter to draw books, and before long men were also allowed to borrow materials. The library was open on Fridays between 3 and 4½ o’clock, and the association raised funds through lectures, fairs, socials, and festivals. By its first annual meeting, it had 329 purchased and donated books, magazines, and newspapers. In 1878, the association built its first library at 205 E. Front Street and rented the second story as a public hall. After selling that structure, it laid the cornerstone and time capsule for this building on July 23, 1909. Fred E. Moore was the architect and E. E. Buckner the contractor. During World War II, the association gave the Red Cross Volunteer Service space for bandage making. In 1944 it donated the building to the city, which converted it into its police station in 1958. The building was rehabilitated for private law offices in 1986.