Cleveland Public Library

It’s sad that most locals have never been in the CPL. It’s one of the Beaux Artes style buildings downtown on Superior. It’s fully renovated and an addition was completed just a few years back.

When you step into the “old” wing, you won’t believe how beautiful it is inside. The first floor reading room has a giant coffered ceiling which matches the rug.

CPL was the first open stack public library—meaning anyone could come in and browse through the books, rather than having to order books from a librarian.

The art work inside is fantastic-check out the ceramic globe on the 4th floor. Also, the CPL has an unbelievable selection of foreign periodicals-magazines from everywhere in the world you can think of. And, there’s lots of fun stuff, not just “serious” journals—fashion magazines from China, sports from Russia, etc.

Also, if you’re doing research, the CPL can hook you up to a kinds of databases for free.

If you’re downtown, go in for 5 minutes. You’ll want to stay longer.