Harold Washington Library Center – Chicago

Harold Washington Library Center is the central/main library for the Chicago Public Library System. It is located at 400 S. State Street. It is a very large building that contains about 972,000 square feet of space. The structure was completed in October 1991. It was built by architects Hammond, Beeby and Babka and was designed in the Postmodern and Beaux Art styles. The library was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest public library in the world.

The building is named after Harold Washington, the first African-American Mayor of Chicago. Mayor Washington supported and championed the building of the new library when he was elected in 1983. Unfortunately, Harold Washington passed away before the library was completed. Mayor Washington passed away in 1987 and the library was completed in 1991. Mayor Richard Daley named the library after Mayor Washington to commemorate his many accomplishments during his tenure (especially in his dedication to education and reading) and to recognize that he was highly instrumental in getting the library built.

The library is laid out as follows:

• Lower level: Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Multi-Purpose Room and Exhibit Hall.
• Central lobby:  two stories tall and includes the circulation and information desks; Popular Library and a YouMedia space for teens.
• Second floor:  Children’s library.
• Third floor: computers for public use, periodicals, interlibrary loan and general information services departments along with a maker space. The Maker Lab includes multiple 3d printers, CNC machines and Laser Cutters.
• Fourth floor: business, general sciences, and technology items.
• Fifth floor: government publications, Chicago municipal references, maps, and center for the blind, visually impaired and physically disabled.
• Sixth floor: social sciences and history resources.
• Seventh floor: literature and language resources.
• Eighth floor: visual and performing arts resources, music practice rooms, and audio/visual rooms.
• Ninth floor holds the winter garden, which can be used as a reading room, or be rented for social functions, also on this floor are exhibit halls, Special Collections, and the Harold Washington Archives and Collections.
• The tenth floor is not open to the public. It houses library offices and technical services.

Other highlights of the library center include the City of Chicago’s Public Art collection, which consists of over 50 works of art spread throughout every floor of the building. Also, the Special Collections section on the 9th floor contains archival collections of photographs, manuscripts, books and art items about Chicago history and culture, the life of Harold Washington and the Civil War.

If you’ve never (or rarely) been to the Harold Washington Library Center, I recommend taking the escalators and elevators to every floor of the building and exploring the many resources and treasures that are available (beyond just books)!