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The Central Library shelves its nonfiction in Dewey Decimal order along one continuous ramp that climbs four floors, called the Books Spiral. Rem Koolhaas of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture designed the building with Seattle’s LMN Architects. It opened on May 23, 2004, at 1000 Fourth Avenue downtown. The building has 11 floors and nearly 10,000 windows.
The library has stood on this block since 1906. Seattle voters approved the Libraries for All bond in November 1998, with about 70 percent in favor. It paid for the new Central Library and for work on the neighborhood branches. The building also houses the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room and the Maritz Map Room.
Washington Wide is now in the Seattle Public Library’s collection. It is a 172-page hardcover of panoramic film photographs from 30+ years across Washington State, shot on Fuji Velvia 50. Randy Lewis, a Colville elder and storyteller, wrote the foreword. It is $59.99 at washingtonwide.com, with free shipping in the contiguous US.