State Library Victoria, Public library in Melbourne, Australia.
State Library Victoria occupies a full city block in Melbourne, bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell and Little Lonsdale streets. Its Swanston Street front has a pale stone neoclassical facade with a triangular pediment on tall columns above a rusticated base, and broad steps lead to the entrance portico. Behind the flat roofline rise the domed La Trobe Reading Room and two thin flagpoles.
The building opened in 1856 and became the first public library in Australia, founded during the gold rush years in Victoria. In the early 20th century the library received its central dome and expanded reading rooms to meet the growing needs of a rising city.
Visitors often sit beneath the large dome working on laptops or reading through old newspapers while tourists browse exhibitions on the ground floor. The name recalls the state of Victoria, whose collective memory is stored along the shelves of these rooms and remains available to locals and researchers alike.
Free guided tours and research assistance are available during opening hours, and wireless internet works throughout all rooms. Visitors should head to the La Trobe Reading Room first to gain an overview of the entire building and its layout.
The La Trobe Reading Room's dome, designed by Bates, Peebles and Smart and opened in 1913, has a whispering gallery: a whisper at the base carries to the opposite side. Skylights hidden behind copper sheathing since 1959 were uncovered in the 2003 refurbishment.
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