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## HQGT: Fremont Library

A cache by Geocaching HQ Message this owner
Hidden : 08/13/2013
Difficulty:
Terrain:

Size:  (other)

#### Watch

How Geocaching Works
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## Geocache Description:

Don't panic! You’ve located another stop in The Geocacher’s Guide to the Center of Our Universe, also known as the HQ GeoTour. It's part of what makes Fremont so unique.

Welcome to Fremont's Historic Carnegie Library, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

#### The Fremont Motto: “De Libertas Quirkas” (freedom to be peculiar)

Print your HQ GeoTour passport as a guide.

The Geocache
You will need to gather information at two waypoints to determine the location of the final container. This is best done when the library is open, but there is a Plan B if you are unable to visit during library hours. Either way, you will need to visit WP1 and WP2 and do some calculations first.

Note: This building is in active use as a library. Please be quiet and respectful of the people who are here to read and work.

Library Hours:
Mon: 1 pm - 8 pm
Tue: 1 pm - 8 pm
Wed: 11 am - 6 pm
Thu: 11 am - 6 pm
Fri: Closed
Sat: 11 am - 6 pm
Sun: 1 pm - 5 pm

STAGE 1 (start at posted coordinates!): N 47° 39.006 W 122° 20.895
Stand in front of the book drop and look at the side of the building. There is no need to go behind the book drop or down the stairs.
• A = You will see windows and columns on the east-facing side of the buiding. How many columns are there?
• B = Below the columns are several blue background relief carvings. How many are there?
STAGE 2: N 47° 39.009 W 122° 20.907
• C = Count the number of petals in the flower above the entrance.
• D = Facing the entrance, look down and to the left of the railing. You will see a small metal sculpture of books. How many books are there in total?
• E = Looking at the same sculpture, how many books are open?
• Take note of the first two words written above the entrance (under the flower); you will need these to determine the location of the final container.

If the library is open:
You will be solving for the Dewey Decimal call number of the final cache. This has letters and numbers in it, in this format: A###.AAA #### (where A represents various letters and # represents various numbers).
The call number is:
[1st word, 2nd letter] [1st word, 2nd letter] [C+D+E][E][D].[2nd word, 2nd letter][2nd word, 3rd letter][2nd word, 4th letter] [E][B+C][A+B][A+B+D]

Enter the library at WP2 and look for the cache using the Dewey Decimal Number you calculated.

If the library is closed: Look for the plan B final at N 47° 39.[ B-D-E ][ A-B-E ][ A ] W 122° 20.[ B+C ][ B ][ E ]

The Fremont Public Library began with a $35,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie in 1917, under the condition that the community would provide the land, books, and staff. The community raised an additional$7,000 through donations and fundraisers, and the City of Seattle donated the remaining $3,000 needed to purchase a$10,000 plot of land for the new library.

Architect Daniel R. Huntington (1871-1962) designed a stucco and red tile roof Mission Revival building, common in the Southwest US but unusual for the Pacific Northwest. The 2-storey building featured a 2,708 sq ft main floor and a 1,068 sq ft lower level. Total cost of construction was \$36,939. The library opened to the public on July 27, 1921 and remains an operating branch of the Seattle Public Library to this day.

The Geocaching HQ office is located right here in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. That makes Fremont the center of our geocaching universe. It just so happens that Fremont is also officially the Center of the Known Universe. Coincidence? We think not.

According to somewhat reliable sources Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood lies in a special geophysical locale. Stay long enough and you might happen to notice the odd gravitational pull, the inability to stay away, the overwhelming urge to return again and again—it’s almost as if you’re in the center of the universe.

In 1991, Fremont Scientists did extensive research at a local Fremont pub. With a few slurs and stumbles, they came to the conclusion that the intersection of N Fremont Ave and 35th St N was, indeed, the Center of the Universe. They supported their statement with the claim that it could not be disproven. (It couldn’t be proven either, but that’s beside the fact.)

Shortly thereafter, through much politicking and cajoling, the Fremont Scientists convinced the Metropolitan King County Council to officially name Fremont as the Center of the Known Universe. You can read the official proclamation, which declared Fremont to be an Independent ImagiNation and a mecca for those of independent minds and spirits, and is forever and fervently empowered with all the rights and privileges thereto accruing. Really.

This geocache was hidden with special permission from Geocaching HQ.