Birmingham Central Library

History

Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in England from 1974 until 2013. It replaced an older library that opened in 1865 and was rebuilt in 1882. For a time, it was the largest library in Europe that wasn’t part of a national collection.

The building was designed by architect John Madin in a bold style called brutalist, using lots of concrete and strong shapes.

The library closed its doors on June 29, 2013, and was replaced by the new Library of Birmingham. After it closed, the building was taken down in 2016 as part of plans to rebuild the area known as Paradise Circus. The library became famous for its interesting design and was praised as a symbol of progress.

During 2010–11, the Central Library was very popular, with over one million visitors making it the second-most visited library in the country.

Earlier libraries

The first Central Library was built south of Edmund Street and west of the Town Hall. The city bought the land from the Birmingham and Midland Institute in 1860. After a vote, they decided to create a public library and started building it.

The library was designed by Martin & Chamberlain and opened in 1865. A fire in 1879 caused damage, but the library was rebuilt and reopened in 1882. Later, as more books arrived, plans were made for a bigger library. But World War II delayed these plans. The old library was torn down, and a new one was built in the 1970s on a different site.

Architecture

The new Central Library opened on January 12, 1974. It was designed by John Madin, an architect from Birmingham. The library had a special shape called an inverted ziggurat, which was part of the Brutalist style of building. With the Rotunda and the Alpha Tower, it became one of Birmingham's important Modernist buildings.

The library had two main parts: a lending library for borrowing books and a reference library for reading and researching. The lending library had three floors and faced the Town Hall. The reference library was eight stories tall and had an open space in the middle. The library had large windows to let in light but also to keep noise out. The area below the library was planned to be a civic square with gardens and fountains.

The building was supported by strong concrete columns. When it opened, the Central Library had about 900,000 books and was the largest non-national library in Europe at the time. It was built to last and be easy to maintain.

Later, the plans for the area around the library changed. New buildings were added, and parts of the original design were altered. Over time, the library's appearance was criticized. In 2011, the building was added to a list of important buildings at risk.

Closure and demolition

Main article: Library of Birmingham

The city of Birmingham, England, planned to move its main library to a new building. In 2013, the new Library of Birmingham opened, and the old library closed on June 29, 2013. After that, the old building was taken down step by step. By August 2016, most of the old library was gone to make space for new buildings.

Campaigns to save the building

Many groups wanted to save the Birmingham Central Library from being torn down. Organizations like the Friends of Central Library, the Twentieth Century Society, English Heritage, and the World Monuments Fund all supported keeping the building.

Even though some tried to protect it, the building was eventually closed in 2013 and torn down in 2016. Some people thought the library was important because of its unique style and history, but others wanted new buildings instead.