Burton Barr Central Library
🏢 Phoenix Public Library · Phoenix, Arizona
Burton Barr Central Library
Phoenix's architecturally iconic flagship library — designed by Will Bruder as a copper-clad desert mesa — anchors downtown at Central Avenue with five floors, a one-acre Great Reading Room, a free MACH1 makerspace, and a summer-solstice skylight that marks the solstice all the way to the lobby.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 9am–7pm |
| Tuesday | 9am–7pm |
| Wednesday | 9am–7pm |
| Thursday | 9am–7pm |
| Friday | 9am–5pm |
| Saturday | 9am–5pm |
| Sunday | 1pm–5pm |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 1221 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: (602) 262-4636
Website: phoenixpubliclibrary.org
Plus Code: 8559FW6G+WP (Phoenix, AZ)
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📖 About Burton Barr Central Library
Burton Barr Central Library is the five-story flagship of Phoenix Public Library, a City of Phoenix department operating 16 branches plus a bookmobile. Opened in May 1995 and designed by bruderDWL architects — Will Bruder with Wendell Burnette as co-designer and project architect — the 280,000-square-foot building draws on the myth of the Southwestern mesa: perforated copper-clad east and west facades shade the interior, computer-controlled louvers track the sun on the south face, and Teflon shade sails diffuse light on the glazed north elevation. The fifth-floor Great Reading Room covers one full acre, and on the summer solstice at solar noon a column of natural light descends through the skylights to the ground-floor lobby — what Bruder called the 'crystal canyon.' The building earned the 2021 AIA Twenty-Five Year Award and a 2010 LEED Silver certification. Named in 1997 for Burton S. Barr (1917–1997), a decorated WWII Army officer and Arizona's Republican House Majority Leader for twenty years, the library holds approximately 550,000 volumes, a 3,400-item Rare Book Room, a Government Documents collection as a Federal Depository Library, and an Arizona Room focused on Southwestern heritage.
⭐ What makes this library special
- 2021 AIA Twenty-Five Year Award winner — copper-clad 'mesa landform' by bruderDWL architects (Will Bruder + Wendell Burnette), opened May 1995, LEED Silver 2010
- 280,000 sq ft across five floors; fifth-floor Great Reading Room covers one full acre with a summer-solstice solar alignment through the skylights
- MACH1 free makerspace (4th floor): 3D printing, robotics, coding, sewing, music production, and photo/video editing — free with library card
- Arizona Room (2nd floor, Thu–Sat 1–5 PM): reference-only Southwestern heritage collection from prehistory to the present
- Federal Depository Library with a 5th-floor Government Documents collection and a 3,400-item Rare Book Room (4th floor)
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Phoenix Public Library cardholders stream, download, and research free through Arizona's shared collections:
📚 Services
- MACH1 Makerspace (4th floor): 3D printing, robotics, coding, sewing, music production, photo & video editing — free with library card
- Arizona Room — Southwestern heritage research collection, reference-only (2nd floor, Thu–Sat 1–5 PM)
- College Depot — free one-on-one college admissions and financial aid counseling (2nd floor)
- Hive @ Central — entrepreneurship co-working space with business mentoring and a Business Roadmap series (2nd floor)
- Teen Central — 5,000 sq ft teen-only space with music room, gaming stations, movie screen, and computers (4th floor, ages 12–18)
- Rare Book Room — 3,400 rare and historical items (4th floor)
- Government Documents — Federal Depository Library Program member (5th floor)
- Study rooms and meeting rooms (reservable, free with card)
- Assistive technology workstations — JAWS, ZoomText, Sorenson Videophone, large-print keyboards
- WiFi hotspot checkout, mobile printing, outdoor holds lockers (24/7), seed library, culture passes
- EV charging in north parking lot; blood pressure kit checkout
🎸 Programs
- Sit, Stay, Read — therapy dog program for emerging readers
- MACH1 STEAM classes — hands-on coding, robotics, 3D modeling, sewing, and music production
- College planning workshops through College Depot (2nd floor)
- IRS Financial & Tax Series through Hive @ Central
- Teen workshops and events through Teen Central
- Día de los Muertos community art exhibition (annual)
📍 Nearby Libraries in Phoenix (Phoenix Public Library)
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the building shaped like a mesa, and what is the 'crystal canyon'?
Architect Will Bruder (bruderDWL) conceived the building as an abstraction of the Arizona mesa — a five-story cube whose east and west facades are clad in perforated copper to buffer the desert sun. The north face is glazed with Teflon shade sails that diffuse daylight; the south face uses computer-controlled motorized louvers tracking the sun. Cutting through all five levels is a grand staircase the design team called the 'crystal canyon,' lit by natural light from above.
What happens inside the library at the summer solstice?
On the summer solstice at solar noon, the fifth-floor skylights are aligned so that columns of sunlight travel directly down the north-south axis to the ground-floor lobby. Bruder designed this feature intentionally as a built-in solar calendar — an homage to the astronomical awareness embedded in ancient Southwestern architecture.
Who was Burton Barr, and when was the library named for him?
Burton Samuel Barr (1917–January 13, 1997) was a decorated WWII Army lieutenant colonel who earned two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. He then represented Phoenix in the Arizona House for 22 years (1964–1986), serving as Republican Majority Leader for 20 of those years. He died in January 1997, and the library — which opened in May 1995 as the 'Phoenix Central Library' — was officially renamed in his honor later that year.
What can I make in MACH1, and who can use it?
MACH1 is free for Phoenix Public Library cardholders and lives on the 4th floor. It offers 3D printers and modeling software, robotics kits, coding stations, sewing machines, and music-production and photo/video-editing equipment. Classes and open-maker sessions run throughout the week — check the library's calendar for current availability.
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