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Seattle Public Library

Buildings and structures in SeattleEducation in SeattleGovernment of SeattleLandmarks in SeattleLibraries in Seattle
Public libraries in Washington (state)Seattle Public Library
Seattle Library 01
Seattle Library 01

The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the city in 1890. The system currently comprises 27 branches, most of which are named after the neighborhoods in which they are located. The Seattle Public Library also includes Mobile Services and the Central Library, which was designed by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2004. The Seattle Public Library also founded the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL), which it administered until July 2008. All but one of Seattle's early purpose-built libraries were Carnegie libraries. Although the central Carnegie library has since been replaced twice, all the purpose-built branches from the early 20th century survive; however, some have undergone significant alterations. Ballard's former Carnegie library has since housed a number of restaurants and antique stores among other enterprises, while others such as the Fremont and Green Lake branches have been modernized and remain in use as libraries.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Seattle Public Library (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Seattle Public Library
4th Avenue, Seattle First Hill

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Wikipedia: Seattle Public LibraryContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 47.606944444444 ° E -122.33277777778 °
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Address

Central Library

4th Avenue 1000
98104 Seattle, First Hill
Washington, United States
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Phone number
Seattle Public Library

call2063864636

Website
spl.org

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Seattle Library 01
Seattle Library 01
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Seattle Central Library
Seattle Central Library

The Seattle Central Library is the flagship library of the Seattle Public Library system. The 11-story (185 feet or 56.9 meters high) glass and steel building in downtown Seattle, Washington was opened to the public on May 23, 2004. Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus of OMA/LMN were the principal architects, and Magnusson Klemencic Associates was the structural engineer with Arup. Arup also provided mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering, as well as fire/life safety, security, IT and communications, and audio visual consulting. Hoffman Construction Company of Portland, Oregon, was the general contractor. The 362,987 square feet (33,722.6 m2) public library has the capacity to hold about one and a half million books and other materials. It offers underground public parking for 143 vehicles and over 400 computers accessible to the public. Over two million people visited the library during its first year. It is the third Seattle Central Library building to be located on the same site at 1000 Fourth Avenue, the block bounded by Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Madison and Spring Streets. The library has a unique, striking appearance, consisting of several discrete "floating platforms" seemingly wrapped in a large steel net around glass skin. Architectural tours of the building began in June 2004. In 2007, the building was voted #108 on the American Institute of Architects' list of Americans' 150 favorite structures in the U.S. It was one of two places in Seattle to be included on the list of 150 structures, the other being T-Mobile Park.