Harold Washington Library Center

Harold Washington Library Center is the central location of the Chicago Public Library. Opened in 1991, it is named in honor of the late Harold Washington, Chicago's first African American Mayor. An 11-member citizen jury selected the design by architect Thomas Beeby of Hammond, Beeby & Babka, Inc. as the winner of Mayor Washington's design-build competition in 1988. The building’s red stone exterior references other iconic Chicago buildings such as the Monadnock and The Rookery, but the enormous rooftop acroteria, in the form of copper owls, impart a distinctive presence. Always a hub of activity, the library houses over 1.2 million holdings, an award-winning Maker Lab, the renovated Thomas Hughes Children's Library, cutting-edge Teen YouMedia space, dozens of works of art by notable artists, rotating exhibits, music practice rooms and a beautiful top-floor Winter Garden.