A romantic horseback ride was immortalized for Frederic Mottet when the Charlotte White Mottet Library opened in the fall of 1930. The library was a gift to the city from Mr. Mottet, an early Tacoma businessman, civic leader and library activist, in memory of his wife who was prominent in Tacoma's cultural and social life during the late 1880's. The site was chosen because Mottet and his wife spent many hours riding in the McKinley Hill area.

Mr. Mottet built up one of the greatest mercantile establishments in the Pacific Northwest, the Hunt and Mottet Company. The library was built at a cost of $9,800 (including the purchase of land).

Frederic Mottet, who served as the first President of the first appointed Library Board of Trustees in 1906 and again from 1926-1933, officially presented the new library to the City of Tacoma at the dedication ceremonies on November 26, 1930.

The whitewashed brick library, built in the style of a French Provincial cottage, reflected Mottet's French Huguenot ancestry. Silas Nelsen, a well-known Tacoma architect, designed the building. Additions and renovations to the Mottet Library were completed in 1964, 1975 and 1989 to expand the library, bring it up to code, and add a community meeting room.