Manchester Central Library

Manchester Central Library
Manchester Central Library
	Manchester Central Library viewed from St Peter's Square
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical rotunda, Tuscan colonnade in Portland stone, low pitched leaded roof and a two-storey, five-bay Corinthian portico entrance.
Town or city	Manchester
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	53°28′41″N 2°14′41″W / 53.4781°N 2.2447°W
Construction started	1930
Completed	17 July 1934
Renovated	2010–2014
Client	Manchester Corporation
Design and construction
Architect(s)	E. Vincent Harris
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Central Public Library
Designated	2 October 1974
Reference no.	1270759

Manchester Central Library is the headquarters of the city's library and information service in Manchester, England. Facing St Peter's Square, it was designed by E. Vincent Harris and constructed between 1930 and 1934. The form of the building, a columned portico attached to a rotunda domed structure, is loosely derived from the Pantheon, Rome. At its opening, one critic wrote, "This is the sort of thing which persuades one to believe in the perennial applicability of the Classical canon".^[1]

The library building is grade II* listed.^[2] A four-year project to renovate and refurbish the library commenced in 2010.^[3] Central Library re-opened on 22 March 2014.

^ Holder, Julian (2007). "Emanuel Vincent Harris and the survival of classicism in inter-war Manchester". In Hartwell, Clare; Wyke, Terry (eds.). Making Manchester. Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. ISBN 978-0-900942-01-3.
^ Historic England. "Central Public Library (1270759)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
^ Linton, Deborah (24 September 2011). "New chapter: £170m revamp of Manchester's Central Library takes shape". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

[1] Holder, Julian (2007). "Emanuel Vincent Harris and the survival of classicism in inter-war Manchester". In Hartwell, Clare; Wyke, Terry (eds.). Making Manchester. Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society. ISBN 978-0-900942-01-3.

[2] Historic England. "Central Public Library (1270759)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 November 2012.

[3] Linton, Deborah (24 September 2011). "New chapter: £170m revamp of Manchester's Central Library takes shape". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

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