The Central Branch of the Kansas City Public Library is housed in a handsome 1906 bank building downtown, but the reason most people detour here is the parking garage next door. The Community Bookshelf — the south facade of the garage — is faced with 22 giant book spines, each 25 feet tall and 9 feet wide, painted to look like actual books. The titles were chosen by Kansas City readers and include works from Tolkien to Invisible Man to Romeo and Juliet. It is genuinely one of the more joyful pieces of public art in the country.
The library itself is worth a look inside: the old banking hall with its ornate ceiling has been repurposed into reading rooms and event space. The library runs free public programs, lectures, and exhibitions. If you are downtown anyway, it takes about ten minutes to walk around the exterior and pop inside.