Mystery malodor, rat problem closes Seattle library branch for weeks

After cutting through walls in search of dead rodents, installing air filters and fans and getting into an inaccessible crawl space, officials are hopeful an unwanted odor in the Chinatown International District's public library is diminishing.

That mystery odor was bad enough to cause the library branch's closure for a week between March 31 and April 5, and again on May 2, and again on May 5, according to The Seattle Public Library. The branch has been closed continuously since May 11.

Those closures came amid a weekslong mystery that is laid out in a timeline provided by the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority. The authority owns the building at 713 Eighth Ave. S. and has leased space to SPL since it opened in 2004, according to Jared Jonson, co-executive director of the authority.

After the smell was reported, an exterminator found a dead rodent under a set of enclosed stairs in an electrical room. After that was cleaned up and sanitized, there was a reported improvement in the odor - but still some lingering smell.

More treatments followed: HVAC technicians replaced air filters and brought in an industrial fan. An exterminator in early April issued a notice of "no immediate health and safety concerns at location, but the odor persisted.

Staff of the development authority installed odor absorbent pods behind ceiling tiles and put air fresheners in other areas, as well as an air purifier in the library's maintenance closet.

In May, staffers cut into a wall and found rodent droppings, and at other points found other rodent carcasses that were then disposed of.

Development authority staff went over the building's blueprints and architectural drawings, and identified a tiny enclosed area that they couldn't reach, prompting them to hire a crawl space specialist with a six-person crew to check it out in early June.

Jonson said the development authority takes the issue seriously not only because the library is valuable for the community, but also because of the library's public restroom access, which can be rare in Seattle.

"We plan to credit a month of rent back to the library as part of our remediation for this whole ordeal," Jonson said.

Now, Jonson said he hopes to have library staff in next week to have a walk-through and hopefully get the branch open again.

"After extensive remediation work throughout April and for most of May, we have essentially determined the odor is virtually gone," he said.

Laura Gentry, spokesperson for the library system, said the library doesn't yet have a reopening date.

"We look forward to reopening the branch to the community as soon as we can," Gentry wrote in an email. "We are working with (the development authority) to ensure that we receive a final report outlining the cause of these issues, how they were successfully identified, and how they were remediated.

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 11:37 PM.