April 2026.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library is the main library system of the city of Columbus. Its main branch is a beautiful Beaux-Arts building in the Discovery District neighborhood, just east of downtown. Now featuring a large Contemporary addition on its east side, the library remains very popular and better able to serve the population.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library’s main branch is located at 96 South Grant Avenue in the Discovery District neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by apartment buildings and Oak Street to the north, Town Street to the south, Topiary Park and Cristo Rey High School to the east, and Grant Avenue and Grant Medical Center to the west.
History
Columbus’s 1872 City Hall building as seen circa 1900-1910, which housed the first incarnation of the library. This building burnt down in 1921 and the site is currently occupied by the Ohio Theatre. (Library of Congress)
Columbus lacked a public library for several decades after its founding. A few businessmen attempted and failed to found literary organizations with private funds, such as the Columbus Reading Room in 1835 and Columbus Athenaeum (not to be confused with the existing Columbus Athenaeum/Masonic Temple Building on 4th Street) in 1853. It was not until 1872 that City Council passed an ordinance that used public funds for the establishment and construction of a library.
The Columbus Public Library and Reading Room, as it was then known, opened to the public on March 4, 1873, in the recently completed City Hall building. The library occupied a reading room on the first floor, and its collection encompassed 1,500 books, which came from the Columbus Athenaeum, the Columbus High School’s library, and the horticultural society.
The current Main Branch under construction in October 1904. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
During the early 20th century, it was common for the construction of libraries in smaller towns to be financed by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. (I’ve covered several of these libraries, including: Old Aurora Public Library in Aurora, Illinois, Sycamore Public Library in Sycamore, Illinois, Columbus Public Library in Columbus, Wisconsin, and Ida Public Library in Belvidere, Illinois.) However, Carnegie objected to the use of his funds for a library in Columbus, since he preferred libraries in smaller towns that were more accessible to lower-class citizens. The Columbus library’s director, John J. Pugh, had to travel to New York City and butter up Carnegie in person (emphasizing their shared British ancestry, apparently) in order to secure funds. Originally, $150,000 was granted, which was increased to $200,000 in 1903. However, this came with the stipulation that the city had to acquire a site and spend $20,000 a year on maintenance.
1908 photo of the facade featured in Architectural Review. (Wikimedia)
Before construction began in October 1903, the site was occupied by an 1840s house formerly used as the governor’s mansion, known as the Noah Swayne House. This house was demolished for the construction of the library. The new building was designed by New York architect Albert Randolph Ross (known for the design of similar Carnegie libraries across the country) in the Beaux-Arts style, in association with Columbus architect Wilbur T. Mills. Apparently, no expense was spared on construction, as the grand marble interior was built by Italian masons. The library was complete and dedicated on April 4, 1906, with a ceremony that included the governor of Ohio and a reading of a message from Andrew Carnegie. It was originally 31,200 square feet in size.
Historic photo of the Clintonville branch’s 1929 Tudor Revival building. (Columbus Neighborhoods)
The Columbus library soon expanded beyond the main branch. In 1928, City Council voted to approve a $30,000 grant to fund the first four branch libraries, which were located in Clintonville, Linden, Hilltop, and on Parsons Avenue. Several more branches have opened over the years. The library has continued to expand with the growth of the Columbus metropolitan area, and more modern branch buildings have recently opened in several neighborhoods, which are designed by local architecture firms and have compelling contemporary designs. (In hindsight, I should have made another series out of visiting these branch libraries, as they are all really great works of contemporary architecture.) An example is the Northside Branch on High Street in the University District, designed by NBBJ and completed in 2015. Not counting the main library, there are currently 23 branches of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
An aerial view of the library after its 1953 and 1961 addition. (WOSU)
The main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library was modified several times over the years. The first two additions were completed in 1953 and 1961, which had Modern designs and were later demolished in 1989 in conjunction with a renovation of the original building. A larger expansion designed by DesignGroup began construction in 1990, whose $39 million cost was funded by a tax levy. That addition was completed on January 2, 1991, greatly increasing the library’s square footage to 418,800, and it was dedicated on April 30, 1991.
2009 Google Maps capture of the 1991 addition before its 2015 alterations. Note the remaining parking lot and mostly windowless facade.
The most recent addition and renovation to the library took place between 2015 and 2016. The process began in 2013, as the library was looking to connect itself to adjacent Topiary Park (similar to New York City’s library and nearby Bryant Park) but was prevented from doing so by a small parking lot formerly used for the Ohio School for the Deaf. The library bought the parking lot and remaining building, sold the building to Cristo Rey High School, and replaced the lot with an outdoor plaza space. Along with the outdoor space’s improvements, the 1991 addition was heavily altered to accommodate the growing interest in the Internet, which reduced the library’s book storage capacity from 1 million to 300,000 volumes. The large expanses of marble that lined the facade were replaced by glass curtain walls that allowed for more light and views. The work was done by GUND Partnership (design) and Schooley Caldwell (record).
The Columbus Metropolitan Library remains a great public asset to the citizens of Columbus, serving as one of the very few remaining “third spaces” in our increasingly isolated society and providing many services to the underprivileged residents of the city.
Photos
A view of the entire facade from across Grant Avenue:
The front lawn’s current design dates to the 2016 renovation, as the grassy portion was formerly concrete.
A closer look at the central module, which has a taller parapet and the entrance:
The exterior has tons of Carnegie-stipulated inscriptions: “My Treasures are Within,” “Open to All,” “Bibliotheca Fons Eruditionis,” (“The Library, A Fountain of Learning” or “Library, the Source of Learning”), and a frieze that credits his financial contributions. Carnegie required that his libraries be open to the general public and announce this fact on their facades.
This fountain, known as Peter Pan, was donated by Charles E. Munson in 1928 in honor of his son Georgie, who died from scarlet fever at just six years old. It was sculpted by Mary Elizabeth Cook and architect Otto C. Darst.
A nice view of some of the ornamental details on this portion of the facade:
This building uses the Ionic order, which can be seen on the columns and entablature. There is also an olive-branch pattern in the spandrels between the arched window and columns. Unfortunately, time and water seem to have taken their toll on some of the ornamental details, as the column capitals and dentils are worn.
The entrance portal is very elaborate and has a large pediment above it:
A closer look at the pediment:
The windows have similar details, and they are emblazoned with important figures from classical antiquity here.
I hate when this happens…I tried to get the cherubs and “PUBLIC LIBRARY” relief here, but my camera autofocused on the tree branches and made the architecture out of focus.
At least this shot of the other side is in focus:
The two side wings are simpler and lack the raised attic, but they share arched windows:
Glassy east facade from Topiary Park:
The large plaza is worlds better than the parking lot that was formerly here, and the renovations have connected the library to the park in a way that didn’t exist previously.
New marble versus old:
The library has this Ohio Historical Marker, but it isn’t listed on the National or Columbus Register. I’m guessing the alterations have come at the cost of its historic significance.
Heading inside, the interior uses a similar classical design, with crown molding and scagliola (imitation marble) pilasters:
The floor is mostly terrazzo but has some fancy mosaic tile, too.
Detail of a pilaster and molding above:
The interior is pretty much divided into a bunch of square modules here. Obviously the original layout is long gone, but this area probably had the circulation desk and similar spaces here.
Heading up the stairs to the second floor--love the composition of this one:
Looking up from the landing, we can see that the second floor has a similar design, with elaborate vaulted ceilings:
Looking up at one of the stained-glass skylights:
This shot is centered on the middle of the building and looks eastward towards the atrium:
The hallways to the wings have elaborately coffered ceilings with large rosettes:
This move is most famously seen on the Pantheon in Rome and copied onto Ohio Stadium back here. Coffering is a weight-saving move when these roofs have a more structural purpose, but it is purely ornamental in this library.
Looking back the other way from this perspective:
I’m still surprised these aren’t real marble pilasters. The color is groovy, and I like the effect of the lighting:
These pilasters specifically seem to just be ornamental and placed on top of a structural wall.
Looking west towards one of the the vaulted windows:
Making my way further down the building on the first floor, I noticed this transitional moment between the 1906 building and 1991 addition:
Really weird that a formerly exterior wall is now entombed here.
A large portion of the space in the addition is devoted to a large atrium:
Not only does it bring in natural light and host frequently used stairs, it also reveals the original eastern facade of the 1906 building:
A similar view from the second floor’s balcony:
A view of the other balconies and stairs, which were painted by a local artist:
It’s interesting how the newer addition both responds to and contrasts with the original building.
I made it to the top floor:
The atrium gets a lot of natural light from these clerestory windows:
What a beautiful library building, both old and new. While I admittedly like the Grand Reading Room of Thompson Library more, these two historic libraries share a union of historic and contemporary architecture.
Sources:
Architecture: Columbus by Robert Samuelson
AIA Guide to Columbus by Jeffrey Darbee
https://columbusneighborhoods.org/video/columbus-metropolitan-library-sesquicentennial/
https://librarytechnology.org/library/3278
https://aldussociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2015-january.pdf
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016814932/
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/10645
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