Minneapolis Central Library Architecture "The Minneapolis Central Library is a dynamic, resource-rich downtown destination, conveniently located between Hennepin Avenue, with the arts and theater district to the west, and Nicollet Mall, the backbone of the city’s business and shopping district to the east. These two downtown districts each have their own orthogonal street grid, creating the unique, trapezoidal site for the library when they converge. This shifting urban geometry carries through the massing of the building, with one block following the east grid and the other block following the west grid. The resulting “courtyard” informs the shape of the five-story, glass-enclosed galleria and the sculptured, wing-like roof that spans over the Nicollet and Hennepin entrances. "