Douglasville Library Named One of Georgia's Most Beautiful

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Douglasville is home to one of the most beautiful libraries in Georgia.

Dog River Public Library, part of the West Georgia Public Library system, has been named one of the 10 Most Beautiful Libraries in Georgia by the Georgia Public Library Service.

A panel of public library and architecture professionals reviewed the candidates this winter and, over the course of three rounds of voting, narrowed the 60 nominees down to 10.

The judging panel included Leslie Sharp, associate vice provost with the Georgia Institute of Technology and a teacher of historic preservation in the College of Architecture there, and Allyson McCarthy, architect and partner with Turco McCarthy Architecture & Design, who is a former chair of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission.

Since its opening in 2011, Dog River has been known as the library in the woods. Located on a 900-acre, forested nature preserve owned by Douglas County, the building's exterior of stone, wood and other natural elements reflect its surroundings.

The library was designed for minimal impact to its natural surroundings, with even the parking lot designed around existing trees. The library service also noted Dog River's screened-in reading porch.

Georgia’s most beautiful libraries will each be recognized at a 2 p.m. ceremony on Monday at the Mary Willis Library — the state’s first free library and the first in Georgia to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dog River Public Library is located at 6100 Georgia Hwy 5 in Douglasville.

In chronological order, the list, released this week, includes:

• The Mary Willis Library in Washington (1888)
• The Carnegie Branch Library in Savannah (1914)
• The Washington Memorial Library in Macon (1923)
• The St. Simons Island Public Library (1937)
• The Buckhead Branch Library in Atlanta (1989)
• The Columbus Public Library (2005)
• The Hamilton Mill Library in Dacula (2011)
• The Dog River Public Library in Douglasville (2011)
• The Porter Memorial Library in Covington (2011)
• The Metropolitan Library in Atlanta (2015)

Photo via West Georgia Public Library System