Michael Graves / Denver Public Library
Denver Public Library by Michael Graves (1996)
It was my first time in the Mile High City. I don't think it's known as a hotbed of modern architecture but I was pleasantly surprised. The library is adjacent to the Civic Center Park and next to The Denver Art Museum.
Graves 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.
Source: Michael Graves
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.
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Copper-clad children’s storytelling pavilion.
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The view of the library from rooftop deck of the Gio Ponti-designed Denver Art Museum. I was visiting to look at knives, forks and spoons, but more on that later.