10 of the USA’s most beautiful and inspiring libraries

17.05.2024 - 14:29 / lonelyplanet.com / Bryant Park

Libraries represent a shared culture and the universality of learning. Around the world, they provide vital and vibrant spaces for communities to gather, debate, discuss – and maybe even read a bit. 

We’ve compiled a list of 10 outstanding libraries across the USA that you’ll surely want to, um, check out soon.

Europe’s most beautiful libraries

Inside the grand, gold-domed State Capitol of Iowa is this Victorian fantasy of a library. Spiral staircases join multiple stories lined with wrought-iron railings on one side, with ceiling-high shelves of the books on the other. On the ground, mosaic tiles depict flowers and classical patterns; light pours in from the ceiling through panels of stained glass above. While the 100,000 volumes are available for specialized legal researchers, general visitors are most welcome to stop and take in the space.

The campus of storied preparatory school Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire rivals what you’ll find at elite universities: think lush lawns, Georgian red-brick buildings and white clock towers. But one building stands out: the Class of 1945 Library, a mini masterpiece by seminal architect Louis Kahn. What looks like a giant brick cube from the outside has at its core a soaring atrium faced with Kahn’s signature concrete. (Kahn was famously able to bring out the expressive qualities of this most workaday of materials.) Kahn’s design pushes the study carrels and book-storage areas to the rim of the building, allowing for the atrium, with its dramatic circular openings, to dominate the design. An illuminating feat indeed.

Planning tip: The library is open to outside visitors – but only a few days each year, when school is not in session. Check Philips Exeter’s website for the full list of days.

The crown jewel of a 92-branch network, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library is the epitome of beaux-arts grandeur, and an icon of New York City. Famously guarded by two stone lions, Patience and Fortitude, the building’s marble facade and exterior steps lead to a temple-like atrium. At the top of the steps, check in with a librarian at the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room, then head to the extraordinary Rose Main Reading Room – the length of two city blocks, with painted murals on the ceiling and tiered chandeliers – for an afternoon of research or writing. The best part? This palace of reading is completely open to the general public. Edification awaits.

Planning tip: Before or after visiting the library, count on taking a break in adjacent Bryant Park, surrounded by Midtown’s skyscrapers. This once-grungy eyesore has become one of New York City’s most elegant green spaces.

Relax in one (or many) of New York City’s best parks

In the tony