Upscale Reading : Beverly Hills Library Blends Expensive Form With Function

It sounds like your typical New Age Beverly Hills mansion: ornate Moorish arches, marble countertops imported from Thailand, brass lighting fixtures, inset mahogany bookshelves and a separate children’s area literally scaled down to kids’ size.

That section is the only thing downscale about this building, the new home of the Beverly Hills Public Library.

The two-story structure is the latest showpiece of renowned architect Charles Moore. It is the crown jewel of the city’s lavish Civic Center, and unarguably among the most splendid public libraries in the nation.

Despite Beverly Hills’ well-earned reputation for excess, library officials maintain that their new home is not another expensive example of form over function. The library works, they say, down to each lavish detail.

The library, which officially opens Wednesday, will be completely computerized. Features such as the separate children’s bathrooms, and separate auditoriums for youths and adults, attest to the five years of planning.

Moore’s iconoclastic design incorporates Spanish Baroque touches as well as Art Deco fixtures.

“When one deals with a famous architect, one finds that their personal vision often takes precedence,” said Michael Cart, director of library and community services. “But that is not the case here.

“This building is a great marriage between aesthetics and function. I think it’s an extraordinary building, almost intoxicating. And the best part is that it should last for several hundred years.”

Moore, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading Postmodern architects because of his creative use of shapes and open space, and his penchant for whimsical and eccentric designs, was selected for the city’s Civic Center project in 1982 over five other nationally known architects.

The Civic Center, which features three large oval spaces connected by archways across a single street, includes the newly remodeled City Hall and new high-tech headquarters for the city’s Police and Fire departments.

The library is actually housed in its previous home, but the vast expansion, including the added second story, and the sweeping design changes have made the original structure nearly unrecognizable.

Although city officials are still troubled by the escalating cost of the Civic Center--the original $60-million estimate has roughly doubled because of delays, cost overruns and add-ons--they say they are delighted with the $25-million library.

“I think it’s going to be a showstopper,” said Mayor Allan Alexander. “You can’t help but have a feeling of awe when you walk in and see all the angles, the lighting and the children’s area. It’s really beautiful to see.”

The relatively plain facade offers few clues to the details inside. The main entrance opens into the building’s central reading room, where the second-story archways are highlighted by multicolored tiles. The book stacks are topped by canopy lights; an adjoining hallway is dominated by a succession of angular walls, leading to the curving staircase.

Another hallway leads to the children’s section, where the arches get progressively smaller and brighter until they reach the tyke-sized reference desk. There is even a step in front of the reference desk to aid the smallest of bookworms.

“That’s so that they will be able to cast their gimlet eyes on the staff,” Cart said. “The area was designed to serve a person of a more modest stature.”

The bookshelves, chairs and tables in the children’s reading room are also scaled down, and nearby is the children’s theater and multipurpose room, where kids can finger paint and, said Cart, “just do the messy things.”

Adults will have a few amenities, too. The main auditorium, complete with a projection booth, has a pantry that can be used for private, catered parties. Cart said the city expects to make money renting the auditorium--or smaller meeting rooms--to community groups.

“The library, clearly, will be the part of the Civic Center most used and enjoyed by the community,” Alexander said. “Setting aside the cost . . . I think it will be the focus of attention for those who enjoy outstanding architecture and art.”

Despite the intricate details, library officials said the biggest advantage of the new structure is the expansion from 35,000 to 92,000 square feet, which will allow enlarging its collection from 200,000 to 300,000 volumes and doubling its seating capacity. The library’s collection is about the size of Santa Monica’s and Pasadena’s, cities nearly three times the size of Beverly Hills.

“We simply have been operating a library that was just too small,” Cart said.

Although Beverly Hills real estate remains off limits to all but the well-to-do, the library is not. The city belongs to a cooperative system that allows library card holders in the cities of Los Angeles, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and Santa Monica to check out books. The Los Angeles County Library is not part of the cooperative, so county library system cards will not be honored.

“Lest you think too lavish a hand was applied here, you need only to see how well the library works,” Cart said. “When you consider everything that was done here and how long it will last, it is actually quite economical.”