The Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library: Cleveland, Ohio

Gems of this city include Lake Erie (tortured as it is by thoughtless development), the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra + Severance Hall, the Emerald Necklace (aka the Metroparks), and the stellar library system, the peoples' university. The main branch is the 3rd-largest public research library in the country and jam-packed with great stuff, from indoor and outdoor reading gardens to collections of maps and postcards. You can go up to the 10th floor of the Stokes Wing for killer city views. My favorite section is in the original building-the Special Collections Department, with its miniature books, cuneiform tablets, and chess sets. The vitrines in the gallery have tiny owls in the metalwork.