See Inside New Martin Luther King Library
New branch library opens with celebration Saturday.
Seating at new Martin Luther King Library. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The Milwaukee Public Library is ready to unveil its newest branch.
The Martin Luther King Library, 2901 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., is ready to welcome its first visitors Saturday. A day-long celebration will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The $11 million project is the latest mixed-use library to open in the system and follows the successful redevelopment of Villard Square, East, Mitchell Street and Good Hope. The mixed-use strategy, which launched with Villard Square in 2011, replaces aging single-story structures with modern facilities with housing above.
The new MLK Library replaces a drab branch that opened in 1971 with a 17,000-square-foot library awash in “as much natural light as you can possibly bring into the space.”
MPL Director Joan Johnson and new branch manager Tiffany Thornton led a tour of the library on Tuesday, showing off the many new spaces designed to make the facility more than just a place to pick up books.
“We have separate areas for teens to hang out,” said Johnson. “We also have smaller study rooms and conference rooms that can be used. And it’s more spacious and more flexible. So you’ll see not as many hard walls and you’ll see modular furniture and equipment. Those are the hallmarks of our modern branches.”
The new library also includes a makerspace, complete with 3D printing equipment, that was funded by the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation.
The library’s design includes two central prominent colors: blue and yellow. “All those blue spaces are going to be more of those reflective spaces,” said Thornton. “Our yellow spaces are going to be more of a connected area… that can support more engagement and community involvement.”
A 1,800-square-foot community room is located across from the lobby desk and holds area. Thornton said it is one of the biggest such rooms within the library system and she is excited to host community events.
The library also features a “pop-up recording studio,” a spacious children’s area with games and activities and a lounge-style area for teens.
Johnson told Urban Milwaukee that MPL has consistently learned from its experience of redeveloping its libraries. “We always go back to the previous project and look at what were some of the things that we wish we would have done differently,” said Johnson. Often, she said, that includes including more flexibility and space for back-of-the-house uses like storage of children’s materials.
Many aesthetic features of the new branch were still being installed during the tour, including a large window cling piece depicting an iconic image of King and large MLK letters that will adorn columns at the entrance. The focus on the library’s namesake was driven by community engagement, said Johnson. “[Community members] really wanted to see that this is truly an homage to Martin Luther King Jr. and so there’s going to be lots of elements to remind you that this is the Martin Luther King Jr. branch,” she said. Moody Nolan Architects designed the new library. JLA Architects designed the larger building complex.
After a January Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Office chase ended with a vehicle crashing into the building, the entrance at King Drive and W. Locust Street was reconfigured. Bollards were added and planters will be installed, augmenting three previously planned large columns that support a canopy. The crash did delay the library’s opening said Johnson. A project manager told Urban Milwaukee that the cost of the changes and delay was being split between MPL and the housing development group, a partnership of General Capital Group and Emem Group, and was expected to cost MPL less than $100,000. Johnson said the crash provided an opportunity to create a better plaza, which she hopes will become a well-used gathering space.
The library also appears poised to deliver on Johnson’s 2023 claim that it would be “the greenest library in Milwaukee.” A fact sheet says there are 132 solar panels on the roof capable of providing 78,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which would save the library approximately $15,000 annually, a geothermal heating and cooling system relies on a 500-foot-deep natural acquifer to provide all electric heating and cooling, a 4,000-square-foot green roof is included above the community room and entrance and 10 spaces in the parking lot were paved with pervious paving.
For more on the apartments above and to the north, see our July 2025 coverage.
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I love the idea of the library to be green: “The library also appears poised to deliver on Johnson’s 2023 claim that it would be “the greenest library in Milwaukee.” A fact sheet says there are 132 solar panels on the roof capable of providing 78,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which would save the library approximately $15,000 annually, a geothermal heating and cooling system relies on a 500-foot-deep natural acquifer to provide all electric heating and cooling, a 4,000-square-foot green roof is included above the community room and entrance and 10 spaces in the parking lot were paved with pervious paving.”
What was the cost to buy and install the solar panels, geotherm HVAC, green roof and pervious paving, and how long before those costs are countered by lower costs from traditional non-green costs? Annual utility & HVAC costs of the previous space compared with anticipated costs of the new system in it’s current 17000 square foot space? The housing will share some of the usual expected costs, but it would be interesting to do the comparisons as models for future similar projects of a mixed use community space with housing.