St. Louis Region
Central Library makes downtown civic architecture easy to spot
St. Louis Public Library's Central Library is a Cass Gilbert building from 1912 that fills a downtown block and anchors a civic-history stop.
Central Library is one of those downtown buildings that explains the city without needing much decoration. The City lists Central Public Library as City Landmark #19 and says Cass Gilbert designed the building at 1301 Olive Street. The City’s preservation plan says the main library opened in 1912.
The building matters because it is still a public library, not just a landmark to look at from the sidewalk. A person researching St. Louis history, using special collections, or simply trying to understand the downtown civic core can treat the library as both a working public institution and an architectural marker.
Use the library’s own pages for tour details, location information, accessibility, and current public hours. The architecture is durable; the visit details are the part to check before going.
References
Where this fits: this note belongs to St. Louis City. See every local note for the county on its page.