Provo Library

Provo City Library at Academy Square occupies the historic Brigham Young Academy building, a landmark built in 1892 from locally manufactured brick trimmed with sandstone and wood. Originally designed by Don Carlos Young based on plans by Karl G. Maeser, the building could once accommodate 1,000 students; its bell tower, added in 1919 with a bell cast at Baltimore's McShane Bell Foundry, still marks the structure today. The library moved into the renovated building in 2001, following a $16 million library bond and a $5.8 million fundraising effort by the Brigham Young Academy Foundation. At the heart of the building, the Ballroom — formerly the Academy's study hall and assembly space — hosts banquets and dinners for up to 320 guests, or theater-style gatherings for up to 500, beneath its restored columns and chandeliers. The library's Events Scheduling Office also books the Nelson Attic and five additional meeting rooms for weddings, parties, conferences, and business gatherings, each supplied with tables, chairs, and audiovisual equipment at no extra charge.