Seattle Public Library

The tactile wood floor boards located on the first floor of the library. (Jacy Gomez)

Level One

The first level of the Seattle Public Library contains the World Languages Collection. When visiting the first floor, you will walk onto a tactile piece of art that is engraved into the floor. This artwork is a collection of quotes from notable books around the world. On the first floor, you will also find a children's center, which is where you will begin to notice the theme of red throughout the library. The Seattle Public Library believes that children are the future of libraries and ultimately what makes them run so well.
The teen center, located on the third floor that includes pops of orange to make them feel welcome. (Jacy Gomez)

Level Three

On this level, you will find a Teen Center, this is where the color orange is introduced to the mix. When the library was created, the architect Rem Koolhaas thought that the color orange was symbolic and inviting for many teens. This is also the level where there is a hidden mural called the "Underwater Mural" is located. This mural was included as a little challenge for teens and families to have a miniature interactive experience as well. On the escalator, you will find a mural called "Braincast," which involves projecting images onto plastic eggs through a glass screen. This piece of artwork can be seen from both levels three and four. This level is also home to the Living Room and Reading Room, which are both places where people can come to read a good book, relax and enjoy the natural lighting of the Seattle Public Library
The fourth floor of the library is the red floor. While the public cannt access many of the rooms on this dloor the overall floor is free to the public and they are encouraged ot ask about the history. (Jacy Gomez)

Level Four

This level is called the Red Floor, The Library utilizes this floor for private and staff meetings. This level is the most photographed and popular. The library uses the color red as a symbolic way to show appreciation to its staff, the community and the countless members who keep the library up and running. Many staff members have noted that the library could not run without the help of the community, which is essential to a library's functionality. This level has 13 different shades of red and is the most mysterious of the floors within the Seattle Central Public Library.
This escalator can take visitor from the fith floor up to the infamous Book Spiral which is known for having numerous collection and volumes of a diverse range of books. (Jacy Gomez)

Level Five

This level is called the Mixing Chamber, which is known by many as the computer lab. On this floor, there are places where people can use computers, printers, scanners, and many other resources, which are all free to the public. On this floor, there are also other private meeting rooms. This is a go-to place for many members of the Seattle community, and you also get an up-close look at the glass and steel that enclose the entire library. The escalator that leads to the Book Spiral is well-known across Seattle due to the massive collection within the library. The Seattle Central Public Library was the first library to introduce escalators into a Library.
The escalators are just as important as the sybolism behin the colors in the Seattle Public Library. The Seattle Public Library was the first library to have escalator within a library. (Jacy Gomez)

Levels 6-9

This is where the infamous Book Spiral is located. This is a collection of nonfiction books that is sorted using the Dewey Decimal system. This is a system that sorts books in chronological order in order to keep the citizens of Seattle engaged with the current and historical events. These floors also have practice rooms for musicians, a job resource center where you can get your resume reviewed and have additional help when searching for a job, but it is also home to many murals, including an outer space mural, which was close to home for the architect.
View from the highest point in the Seattle Public Library. From this point you can see all the way down to thei third floor, into the Living Room which is a place to relax and enoy time at the library.

Level Ten

Level Ten is where you can find the highest viewpoint from the Seattle Public Library. This is the most popular point in the library where you can see all the way down to the third floor. This floor is also home to countless high school yearbooks from around Seattle, and a Reading room, which is a place where people can go to relax and read after their long day at the library. The Seattle Room is located on this floor as well, a room that is dedicated to preserving the history of Seattle and the Seattle Public Library. Library staff, Deb Bernard, shared with us that she read all of the contents of the Seattle Room in one week.

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The Heart of Seattle: The Central Public Library

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