Denver Public Library - Denver, CO, USA
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 44.253 W 104° 59.262
13S E 501053 N 4398628
Denver Public Library's huge expansion was designed by Michael Graves in 1990
Waymark Code: WMBH7J
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 05/22/2011
Views: 16
Michael Graves is hailed worldwide as a co-founder of the Postmodern school of architecture. Postmodernists reject modern skyscrapers for the classical forms, natural materials and colors of centuries past. Some of Graves' best-known projects are the Walt Disney Corporate Headquarters in Burbank, California: Disneyworld Swan and Dolphin Hotels in Orlando, Florida; The Portland (Oregon) Building; and The Humana Building (Louisville, Kentucky). The New York Times calls Michael Graves "the most truly original voice that American architecture has produced in some time."
Construction of the new Central Library was funded by a bond issue approved by a 75 percent majority of Denver voters in 1990. In 1995, the new Central Library opened to nationwide acclaim. It is now the largest library between Los Angeles and Chicago, and each year over a million people visit the Central Library. (from (
visit link)
I regularly use the Central Branch of Denver Public Library for genealogical research and enjoyment reading. The expansion designed by Graves in 1990 changed the character of the building from a traditional 1950s style to a wonderful exploration of form and color. The space he created inside is large and inviting as well as useful for changing layouts as the media carried by the library changes.