Salt Lake City's Main Library is an architectural marvel designed to engage the city's imagination.Salt Lake City's Main Library is an architectural marvel designed to engage the city's imagination.Salt Lake City's Main Library is an architectural marvel designed to engage the city's imagination.
Salt Lake City's Main Library is an architectural marvel designed to engage the city's imagination. The six-story building is more than a place to house books and computers, offering a remarkable tourist attraction year-round. A massive, curving glass exterior envelops the public plaza. Views of the landscaped square, against a backdrop of the city and the Wasatch Mountains, are available from the interior's multi-level reading area and roof-top garden.
The library is a companion building to City Hall. A granite waterfall flows into a garden, providing a cool and tranquil atmosphere, and a reflecting pool under the glass facade is a welcoming place to sit with a book. The public plaza, designed to create an active urban space, provides opportunities for festivals, performances and literary events. The plaza's water features and gardens create a perfect place to meet friends, listen to a concert, or participate in community activities.
The annual Utah Arts Festival draws eighty-thousand visitors to Library Square the last weekend in June. More than five-hundred artists and performers participate in Utah's largest outdoor art festival, ranked among the top fifty U.S. art festivals. The Artist Marketplace showcases painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry and wearable art.
Performing artists include musicians and dancers from the region and around the country, with non-stop musical events at four stages and outdoor cafes. The literary arts program includes poetry readings and writing seminars.
Admission prices vary for adults, children, students and seniors. Four-day passes are available in advance, or at the gate. The festival runs Thursday through Sunday from 12 noon until 11 p.m.
Library Square is located in the center of downtown Salt Lake City, just east of State Street on East 400 South, within convenient stops on the UTA bus and TRAX trolley lines. Lot parking is available nearby.
