Salt Lake City Public Library, Public library in Downtown Salt Lake City, United States
Salt Lake City Public Library is a modern public library downtown featuring a distinctive triangular form with expansive glass walls and open reading areas. The five-story structure spans an entire city block and brings together book collections, multimedia resources, study spaces, dining options, and a rooftop garden.
The original library was established in 1898, but the current building opened in 2003 following architect Moshe Safdie's design. This rebuilding transformed an entire city block and marked a major renewal of the library's role in the city.
The building's triangular plan points directly at the Salt Lake Temple. Library Square hosts a community writing center run by Salt Lake Community College, studios of radio station KUUB, shops, and The Leonardo museum in the former library building. A seed library lets patrons take seeds for their own gardens.
The main entrance on 400 South opens into the five-storey Urban Room, with a spiral staircase and three glass elevators linking the floors. The children's library is visible from every level, and a coffee shop has a private staircase to the Teen Lounge. The rooftop garden and ground-floor community garden are reached from inside the building.
The building is shaped like a triangle or arrowhead and points directly at the Salt Lake Mormon Temple. Its south side has a glass "lens" that warms the interior in winter and cuts heating costs, and fireplaces on four floors line up to look like a column of fire when seen from 200 East and 400 South.
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