Harold Washington Library in Chicago, Illinois

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The Harold Washington Library Center serves as the central hub for the Chicago Public Library System. Situated just south of the Loop 'L' at 400 S. State Street in Chicago, Illinois, it is a full-service library that meets ADA standards. Like all libraries within the system, this one offers complimentary wifi internet access to its patrons. The building spans approximately 756,000 square feet (70,200 m2) of space, with a total square footage of around 972,000 square feet (90,300 m2), including the rooftop garden penthouse, according to the city's Zoning department. Following the conversion of Chicago's former central library into the Chicago Cultural Center in 1977, a temporary central library was established in the Mandel Building at 425 North Michigan Avenue. A significant portion of the library's collection was stored during this time. The debate over building a new central library continued throughout much of the 1980s due to funding issues. Upon his election in 1983, Mayor Harold Washington expressed support for constructing a new central library. After four mayoral administrations in seven years, the city and Library Board finally chose a location and issued a $175 million bond in 1986 to fund the new building and the entire city-wide library branch system. In 1987, a design competition was held by the city to determine the architecture of the library. Five prominent entries were selected from collaborations between architects and contractors: VOA Associates with Arthur Erickson; Hammond, Beeby & Babka; Murphy/Jahn, Lohan Associates, and SOM. The entries were narrowed down to two finalists: the Chicago Library Team with Helmut Jahn's modern design and the SEBUS coalition, whose postmodern design took elements from nearby historic buildings. Notably, Jahn's design would have spanned over Van Buren Street onto Pritzker Park, incorporating a new elevated station on Chicago's Loop. However, this was deemed too expensive, along with the rest of Jahn's design, so Hammond, Beeby and Babka's postmodern design won the competition. The architectural models created by the entrant teams are displayed on the eighth floor of the Harold Washington Library Center, except for the SEBUS entry, which is located in the ninth-floor Special Collections. With the support of Harold Washington and the wealthy Pritzker family, ground was broken at Congress Parkway and State Street, covering an entire block. Upon completion in 1991, new Mayor Richard M. Daley named the building after the late former mayor Harold Washington, a strong advocate for reading, education among Chicagoans, and library construction. Prior to 1872, Chicago relied mainly on private libraries. Following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, England donated over 8,000 books to the city, which formed the foundation of the first public library. This collection was housed in various locations until the Central Library was built in 1891. The Harold Washington Library opened its doors on October 7, 1991. Since its completion, it has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest public library building globally.