Toronto's Most Beautiful Libraries

Lillian H. Smith — 239 College St.

A winged lion and a griffin guard the arched brick entrance here, and the regulars have named them: Edgar the lion sits on the east side, Judith the griffin on the west, the latter a nod to the science-fiction collection inside. The 1995 building was designed to look like a small castle, with twin copper-roofed towers and an atrium that rises in tiers you can climb floor by floor. It holds two of the city's rare collections, the Merril Collection of science fiction and fantasy and the Osborne Collection of early children's books, where the holdings run to first editions, a dollhouse, and a book small enough to need its own magnifier. If you visit one branch on this list for the architecture, make it this one.

North York Central — 5120 Yonge St.

This is the TPL second reference library, but unlike the Toronto Reference downtown, you can actually borrow most of what's on the shelves. A renovation finished in 2018 opened up the seven-storey atrium with new reading lounges and counters along each level, so the place feels bright and lived-in rather than institutional. The second-floor Creation Loft is the surprise: alongside 3D printers and recording booths, there's a fabrication studio stocked with sewing and embroidery machines. This library sits right on Mel Lastman Square and has a direct underground link to the North York Centre subway, making it an easy to access.

Wychwood — 1431 Bathurst St.

Eden Smith designed this one in 1916 as a Tudor-style reading hall, raised above street level with an open-timber roof and a stone fireplace at the far end. A 2022 renovation freshened it up without flattening the character, and the upstairs reading terrace opens to the outdoors when the weather cooperates. Regulars favour the chairs set to face the tall windows, which makes it a good spot to lose an afternoon. You're a short walk from the St. Clair paths and from Corso Italia, so you can pair a few chapters with gelato or an espresso afterward.

Riverdale — 370 Broadview Ave.

One of Toronto's Carnegie libraries, Riverdale opened in 1910 on a wedge of land that was once the Don Jail Governor's garden. City architect Robert McCallum gave it a rounded corner entrance, rare for a Carnegie branch, at the busy junction of Broadview and Gerrard, built in red brick with sandstone trim. The setting makes it a good anchor for a walk: Riverdale Park and Farm are minutes north, and Chinatown East is right outside the door for dumplings.

Beaches — 2161 Queen St. E.

Beaches is Wychwood's near-twin, built the same year by the same architects in the same English collegiate style, and its upstairs hall is the showpiece: a hammer-beam ceiling, a stone fireplace, leaded casement windows, and a small minstrel gallery. It sits at the edge of Kew Gardens, a few minutes from the boardwalk and the Queen East restaurants. The second-floor reading area is comfortable enough for a low-key date. Hard to argue on a sunny afternoon.

Bloor/Gladstone — 1101 Bloor St. W.

The original 1913 building is a solid Italian Renaissance box, but the reason people photograph this branch is the glass addition from the renovation that wrapped in 2009. RDHA set a clean glass volume against the old masonry, dropped the entrance down to street level, and cut a triple-height atrium and courtyard into the middle, so the heritage brick and the modern glass end up sitting side by side comfortably. It's in Bloorcourt Village, a quick hop off the Bloor-Danforth subway line. The contrast is the whole appeal, and it's worth a look even if you're not borrowing anything.

All six are easy to reach by TTC, so if you're in a library mood, you can string a couple together on a Saturday. Check the current hours before you go, since most branches keep shorter weekend schedules.