Seattle's new library: The Seattle Times

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Seattle's new library

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Getting to know the new central library

A walk around the outside of the new Seattle Public Library downtown, with its sloping steel and glass surfaces, can't help but make you curious about what's inside.

It may take several visits to fully explore the new library, and this guide will help you find your way around.

The concept behind
the building

Automated book sorting

Windows block sun, keep views

Click on the links below for more details

Overview: All floors | Level 1: Fourth Avenue entrance | Level 3: Living Room | Level 5: Mixing Chamber | Level 9-6: Book Spiral

Graphics and research by Kristopher Lee, Mark Nowlin and Whitney Stensrud / THE SEATTLE TIMES

	Pacific Northwest magazine

	Photo gallery

	Getting there

	Hours of operation

Brutal beauty
A former doubter declares the library a marriage of civic splash and practical intimacy.

Stunning images by Seattle Times photographer Benjamin Benschneider.

· Slideshow

1000 Fourth Ave. · Location map Parking for two hours is $10.50, with validation.
· Seattle Public Library site

Monday - Thursday:
10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday - Saturday:
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday:
Noon - 6 p.m.

Closed holidays

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