The Denver Public Library’s construction era is coming to an end — with a final sprint of even more construction.
On Sept. 20, the central branch will be fully closed to visitors for more than a month. The shutdown, which is expected to last into November, will allow workers to finish the main branch’s years-long renovation project.
The closure will end with the library’s grand reopening on Nov. 3, according to a library newsletter.
During the closure, the central branch will still offer curbside pick-up, a holds window and remote services. Otherwise, the nearest branches include the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library and Ross-Broadway Branch Library.
The central branch’s $59 million touchup got rolling in 2017 when voters approved a big chunk of funding with the Elevate Denver bond. Construction started in 2020.
On the outside, the building will remain much the same — looking, to me, a lot like something a kid would build with blocks. But the renovations will touch practically every corner of the 540,000-square-foot campus.
The work includes:
- Upgraded elevators and escalators
- Accessibility improvements
- New or improved security, data, power, communication, lighting, HVAC and fire alarm systems
- Changes to landscaping, sidewalks and parking
- Redesigned and bigger restrooms, including an all-gender restroom on the first floor
- Changes to the entrance on Broadway
- A rebuilt children’s library
The library at Broadway and 14th Avenue opened in 1956, but a rebuild was completed in 1995 as part of a $92 million bond package for the library system.
Parts of the library have been closed or limited to the public throughout the latest renovation project. There are thousands of new Denver residents who have never seen the central library at its most operational.
- From September 2023: DPL Central is still under construction, but at least nobody’s stuck in the elevator
Amid the pandemic and construction, circulation at the central branch plummeted by 80 percent from 2019 to 2022.
What are you most looking forward to when the library reopens? Let us know.
