Michael Graves / Denver Public Library

Denver Public Library by Michael Graves (1995)

I was in Denver for the weekend to look at knives, forks and spoons. More on that later. It was my first time in the city.

Greaves was awarded the project after the firm won a design competition. The seven-story addition

was a 390,000 SF expansion and also included a 147,000 SF renovation of the existing library.

The 1955 library was designed by Burnham Hoyt.

Source: Denver Public Library Special Collections

The new and old library buildings.

Source: Richard W. Longstreth via Society of Architectural Historians

There was a recent renovation that included adding what they call, the "Grand Staircase".

Special Collections and Archives are on the fifth floor.

The Graves sculpture, titled “Symbol of the West”, is constructed of reclaimed beams from a Western sawmill.

It's held together with wooden pegs.

The reading room is spectacular.

I found a series of architecture guides in the stacks.

Copper-clad children’s storytelling pavilion.

The view of the library from rooftop deck of the Gio Ponti-designed Denver Art Museum.

Esoteric Survey