Library Lust

The Boston Public Library was the first public library in the US. Built in 1895, this building is exactly what one imagines when the word library is mentioned

Green lamps lighting the way for ambitious students, rows upon rows of books, and hallowed halls bustling with book lovers, this library has all of the staples.Gorgeously masculine with its dark wood, and even housing an interior courtyard, this library is a historic treasure.

No list of the best libraries would be complete without this NY icon. When this building was established in 1911, it was the largest marble structure in the States.

The whole library is gorgeous of course but the Stephen A. Schwarzman reading room, with its painted ceilings, is definitely not something seen in your average library.

The Art and Architecture room looks like the kind of cozy book laden place a visitor could spend a whole afternoon. Tuesday through Saturday there are guided tours through the library that explain the history of the building.

This library is a work of art. Built in 1925, The Old Wing of the Cleveland Public library shows a kind of attention to detail that you don’t often find in libraries anymore.

With high arched and painted ceilings, being in this library seems like a religious experience and amidst the modern age of kindles and computers, time spent at this library could be meant to be just that.

Built in 1991, this library was designed to fit in with many of Chicago’s older buildings. The outside architecture is meant to reflect a few different kinds of architecture and its classical interior design gives it a regal and timeless feel that seems to fit perfectly with its job of housing timeless classics. Inside, it has eight library floors plus ninth floor “winter garden” for exhibits and events.

While you’re in Chicago, visit what is now the cultural center and you will be standing in what used to be the library circa 1897. It’s worth visiting if only for the Tiffany glass dome.

And now for something completely different. It would seem that the trip through the Midwest has culminated in something of a time warp. In Salt Lake we have a library that is almost entirely made from concrete and glass.

Clean, shining, and beautiful in its modernity, this building has a few features that make it really special. There are spiral fireplaces that appear as columns of fire, a rooftop garden, and a special staircase takes readers straight to the library’s young adult section.

This modernist Mecca is almost more art project than library. The eleven story glass and steel structure looks like something you could have seen in a geometry class. As foreign as it may look on the outside, inside it was designed to be as user friendly as possible. To break up the monotony of the chrome building, there is vibrant color splashed around the library. The fourth floor is entirely red and is home to classrooms, conference rooms and offices.

An illuminated escalator is used to get patrons where they need to go. This truly is one of the most unique buildings in America.