Seattle has the most spectacular library building I’ve ever had the privilege to visit; the building is so interesting architecturally speaking. I know Seattle in known for many things such as the Space Needle, Microsoft, Pike Market, Starbucks, rain, Nordstrom, great food, grunge bands, and a really good ferry system, but I found a this Seattle Public Library, so simple, so iconic.
I ended up at the library because this building, which I passed by everyday going off to see all the well known sites, called me, begged me to see what it was all about, it even entered my dream one night and it wasn’t far from my Seattle hotel, but it was not visible from my hotel.
The Seattle skyline is very distinctive and very modern and, of course, is dominated by the Space Needle, but the library, for me, is the most stunning of all Seattle’s wonderful architecture. I’ve been to many of the major libraries in the United States, including the Library of Congress, UC Berkeley Bancroft Library, the Boston Public Library and the New York Public Library, but this library in Seattle is number one in my book.
When I finally walked inside the library, I was immediately taken with it. Besides having books, the library has free computer use (which includes wireless access), a recitation auditorium, daily newspapers, eleven levels, a coffee shop and a red bathroom. This building was the brainchild of a Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas and a Seattleites, Joshua Ramus. The total area of the library is 362,987 square feet, and has an additional 49,000 square feet for underground parking. The predecessor was only 200,000 square feet and had no public parking. The library has the capacity for more than 1.45 million books and the books are moved around the building in this high-tech book handling system, which operated out of the public’s view.
I’m so glad I finally stopped to find out what this building was all about, I really had no idea that it was a library, it just doesn’t look like one.
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