The Detroit Public Library
Main Branch of the Detroit Public Library
5201 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
Library Hours:
Currently closed due to COVID-19 response
Highlights
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The Main Branch of the Detroit Public Library (DPL) is located in the Cultural Center across from the Detroit Institute of Arts, contributing to what makes Woodward Avenue a scenic city drive. The DPL opened for service on March 25, 1865. The 5,000 book collection was located in one room of the old Capitol High School on Griswold Street. A committee of the Detroit Board of Education governed the library until 1881, when the six-member Detroit Library Commission took over.
In 1877, a new library opened in Centre Park on the site of the present Skillman Branch. The library's collection grew from 34,000 to 70,000 books by 1886.
As Detroit's population grew, so did the library. In 1900, branches were opened inside Central High School (now Old Main at Wayne State University), Harris School on the east side, and Western High School.
Eventually, a new main library was needed, and on March 29, 1921, the building on Woodward Avenue opened. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, and partially funded by a gift from Andrew Carnegie, the Italian Renaissance style library was called the most beautiful building in Detroit.
In the 1950s, Detroit's population reached almost 2 million and the library's book collection was over 2.5 million volumes. To accommodate these changes, the Cass Avenue wings opened on June 23, 1963. The expansion added 240,000 square feet to Main, doubling its size
DetroitPublicLibrary.org
