Alexander Library Building


The Alexander Library Building, is located in the Cultural Centre of Perth, Western Australia.
It was named after Western Australian historian and former member of the Library Board, Fred Alexander.
It houses the State Library of Western Australia, the J S Battye Library, and the State Records Office, in the Perth Cultural Precinct in Northbridge.
The building falls under the responsibility of the Western Australian government Department of Culture and Arts. It was completed and opened in 1985.
It has been changed internally over time, however the basic structure remains.

Earlier landscape

The sloped walkway just east of the building runs roughly along the alignment of the old Museum Street, which ran between James Street and Francis Street. The street had one of the most mixed and unique streetscapes in this area of the Perth CBD – which was all removed in the construction of the new library building.
Only one building is commemorated on the Alexander Library Building structure – the Perth Baptist Church which was in Museum Street from 1899 to 1979. The Theosophical Bookshop and library was long established at the corner of Museum and James Streets. The streetscape can be found in Wise's Directories for the earlier decades.

Plaques at entrance