Downtown Portland’s Central Library reopens with decor, tech and restroom upgrades

On Wednesday, for the first time in nearly a year, visitors can once again weave between bookshelves and check out materials from Multnomah County’s historic Central Library. It’s been closed to the public while it has undergone extensive renovations.

It was originally supposed to open during the winter of 2023, but supply chain issues and last month’s severe winter storm forced crews to delay the opening. The renovations cost $13 million total, most of which came from bond funds, according to Library spokesperson Shawn Cunningham.

While the library was closed, a pop-up site was opened on Southwest Washington Street, a few blocks away from the Central Library, to provide computers and Wi-Fi services for patrons to use

The closure led to increased foot traffic at surrounding locations, especially the Northwest Portland Library, said Central Regional Manager Shelly Jarman.

“Every time I walk out the door and I’m anywhere in this neighborhood, someone says, ‘I hear you’re open,’” Jarman said. “So everybody’s been super excited as we get closer and closer to the date.”

‘People are going to be pretty surprised’

While much of the 110-year-old building remains the same — it’s been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979 — longtime library patrons might be struck by just how different it is in some key ways.

Gone are the towering bookshelves that lined much of the library’s fiction and nonfiction sections. The shelves are now a fraction of that height, with wheels on the bottom so they can be rearranged for different public events.

Jarman said the idea was to make materials easier to find and increase safety, and it will be easier for library staff when hosting public events. The shorter shelves also let more sunlight in the building.

“People are going to be pretty surprised, because there’s so much more light,” Jarman said. “You can walk into a room and you can see exactly what you’re looking for, and you can see the other people in the space.”

The Central Library was last renovated in the mid-1990s, only on a much larger scale. The theme then was the “Garden of Knowledge,” evident by the famous black granite staircase featuring an ornate garden design.

Meg Matsushima, the library’s facilities manager, said library staff wanted to continue the garden theme, but also expand upon it. The new green carpets are reminiscent of that theme.

She said renovating the library also revealed some of its history — books that had fallen behind shelves years ago and a memo from the 1980s.

“When you work on an existing building, there’s always those unforeseens, and this one being historic, there’s even more,” she said.

New furniture and upgraded bathrooms

One of the most striking updates is the paint on the library’s second floor. It was previously pink, but now it has multiple shades of bright yellow and gold. The rooms also have new, more comfortable furniture, purchased with the idea that people could spend more time in the library.

One of the largest changes has nothing to do with books or magazines, but with the restrooms. Whereas some of the bathrooms previously only had a few stalls, the new restrooms are much larger and brightly lit.

Cunningham said it was important to upgrade the restrooms, because it’s one of the few places people can freely access a bathroom in the downtown area.

“Bathrooms are always the centerpiece of a public library,” he said. “Particularly for this community in downtown Portland, having access to clean, safe and welcoming restrooms is something that a lot of folks just can’t find anywhere else.”

Matsushima said those intimately familiar with how the library used to look might be a little surprised — hopefully for the best.

“I hope they’re pleasantly surprised,” she said. “If they know these rooms well, it is a big shift, and we’re hoping that it’ll be well received.”