Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach, Public library in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida
Mandel Public Library is a public library in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, spread across several floors. Each floor is dedicated to a different audience, with separate sections for children, teenagers, and adults, alongside computer stations, Wi-Fi, meeting rooms, and a technology center equipped with 3D printers and audio recording gear.
The library was founded in 1895 as a free reading room inside a church, making it the oldest public library in Palm Beach County. Over the following decades it moved several times and grew steadily before settling into its current building in downtown West Palm Beach.
The library's name comes from a $5 million grant the Mandel Foundation awarded in February 2012 to the West Palm Beach Library Foundation, when the former West Palm Beach Public Library was renamed. The building opened in April 2009 at 411 Clematis Street, and in 2022 Fodor's Travel listed it among the 11 most beautiful libraries in the country.
The library sits in downtown West Palm Beach and is within walking distance of several public transit stops and nearby attractions. The building is accessible for people with mobility needs, and the layout makes it easy to move between floors and sections.
The fourth-floor Grand Reading Room runs 270 feet (82 m) under a 35-foot (11 m) barrel-vaulted ceiling, with 50 public computers and the historical Florida Room. In 2022 Fodor's Travel listed the library among the 11 most beautiful libraries in the country.
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