Salt Lake City downtown library closed after ‘critical’ sewer line failure

Salt Lake City’s Main Library was forced to shut down until further notice this week because of a “critical failure” to the downtown building’s main sewer line.

There’s no word on when the library, located at 210 E. 400 South, will reopen. But the sewer line requires “extensive” repairs, officials said.

“Our facilities team, alongside plumbing contractors, are hard at work to get the library open again as soon as possible,” the library shared on social media.

The problem was first discovered in the form of a small leak on Wednesday. When plumbing contractors were brought in to make further inspections, the building’s water was turned off, and the apparent failure was discovered.

“Fortunately, this was caught before it could become a bigger issue,” Quinn McQueen, a spokesperson for the city’s public library system, said, noting that there is no damage to the building, and the “books and other materials are safe and sound.”

In the meantime, the water remains off, which is why the building is not open to the public.

While the downtown library is closed, due dates and hold times on all items there will be extended, officials said. All other Salt Lake City library branches remain open: Anderson-Foothill, Chapman, Corinne and Jack Sweet, Day-Riverside, Glendale, Marmalade and Sprague.

If you have any items on hold at the Main Library, you can also call your closest branch to have any holds transferred there instead, McQueen said. And any checked-out materials due for return to the Main Library can be returned at any Salt Lake City library branch in the meantime.

The Main Library opened in February 2003. Built at a cost of $84 million, the structure is noted for its striking architecture — a five-story, triangular structure that houses the stacks and readers’ facilities; a rectangular administration wing; and a glass-enclosed “urban room, all behind a crescent-shaped wall.

The library was prominently featured in the “The Amazing Race” when the rooftop garden was the “pit stop” in an episode of the CBS series.

The Main Library is also home to several businesses, including Art at the Main studio, The English Garden florist, a Salt Lake Community College writing center, the Salon at Library Square and the Library Store.

KCPW radio, which is based at the library, remains on the air amid the closure.