Vancouver Public Library , Vancouver, BC, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Vancouver Public Library Central Library stands at 350 West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver, and its curving, tiered walls look strikingly like a Roman amphitheatre. It opened in 1995 and is one of the city's best known modern buildings, as well as a working library that anyone can walk into.

The story behind it

The library's roots go back to the Hastings Literary Institute, founded in 1869, long before Vancouver was a big city. Over the following decades the collection grew with the city and the library changed homes more than once before settling at Library Square.

The current building came out of a design competition, and the public had a say in choosing the winning scheme. Its oval shape and stacked arcades recall the Colosseum in Rome, which is why many visitors assume it is far older than it is. Once you step inside, the glazed, light-filled space between the library and the surrounding walls makes it clear this is a late twentieth century building.

What to look for

• The oval outer wall, with its rounded form and rows of arches, is the clearest echo of the Roman Colosseum, and it looks best from the corner of West Georgia and Homer Street.
• The tall glazed space between the main library block and the curved outer wall works as a public room, and it is worth stepping inside to see how daylight fills it.
• Look at how the library sits beside the office tower at Library Square, so that the curved building and the straight tower contrast with each other.
• Notice the people: students, readers and passers-by use the entrance and the open spaces around it all day, which says a lot about how the city uses its library.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the outside and the ground-floor spaces, longer if you want to explore the upper floors.
• It is a public library, so entering is free, but check current opening hours and which areas are open to visitors before you go.
• Light in the morning and late afternoon shows off the curved facade well, and the building is easy to photograph from across the street.
• It is close to the Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Square and the theatres and arenas of downtown, so it fits easily into a walk through the centre.

See it on a quest

Downtown Vancouver: Espionage Adventure passes the library as one stop on a longer route through the heart of the city. You walk there on foot, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in front of what you are looking at, so you notice details you might otherwise walk past. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no set departure time.