The octagonal dome of the south – 1913’s largest concrete dome over radiating desks, Ned Kelly’s armour in the galleries, the lawn’s student commons before.
At a glance
- Type
- State library
- Period
- Founded 1854; dome 1913
- Style
- Neoclassical with engineering dome
- Location
- Swanston Street, Melbourne, Australia
- Coordinates
- -37.8098, 144.9652
- Dome
- 34.75 m – world’s largest reinforced-concrete dome at opening
Overview
The La Trobe Reading Room’s octagon opened 1913 under the world’s then-largest reinforced-concrete dome – 34.75 metres clear over desks radiating from the supervisor’s hub, gold-rush Melbourne’s 1854 foundation (among the world’s first free public libraries) grown to its monument. Two million visitors a year make it Australia’s busiest library; Ned Kelly’s armour draws them upstairs.
History
Redmond Barry – the judge who sentenced Kelly – founded the institution whose galleries now exhibit the outlaw’s plough-steel suit and Jerilderie letter: colonial Victoria’s ironies shelved together. The 2020 Vision works opened domed light to the floor again after decades’ skylight blackout; the forecourt lawn is Melbourne’s reading-and-chess commons.
Architecture and Design
Bates’ dome rode Monash-era concrete engineering (John Monash consulted); the oculus ring’s glazing rains noon light on the catalogue’s spokes. The Corinthian portico’s steps and Joan of Arc’s bronze guard Swanston’s parade.
Cultural significance
The library is Melbourne’s civic study and the southern hemisphere’s reading-room icon – free knowledge’s gold-rush promise kept at metropolitan scale.
Visiting today
Free daily; dome galleries’ exhibitions (Kelly, World of the Book) self-guide. The lawn’s chess and the surrounding laneways’ coffee complete the visit.
Getting there
Melbourne Central station underlies the block; every Swanston tram stops at the lawn.
Sources and resources
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