[4] The Albuquerque Public Library opened in 1901, operating out of a former school building called Perkins Hall which was donated to the city by Joshua and Sarah Raynolds.

In 1923, voters approved a bond issue for construction of the new library, and the City Commission put the project up for bid the following year.

The Pueblo Revival style building was designed by Arthur Rossiter, with interior decorations by Santa Fe artist Gustave Baumann, and opened to the public on March 23, 1925.

[7] The Old Main Library is a one-story Pueblo Revival style building with battered, stuccoed walls, exposed vigas, and buttressed corners.

Interior details include heavy wooden columns and beams, two corner fireplaces, and murals by Gustave Baumann.