The Belmopan Public Library located on Mot Mot Ln,

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...

, the capital city of

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, was inaugurated on August 24, 1970. The process of constructing a local library began after

Hurricane Hattie Hurricane Hattie was one of the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclones of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, reaching a peak intensity as a Category5 hurricane. The ninth tropical storm, seventh hurricane, fifth major hurricane, and secon ...

, in 1961, devastated the previous capital,

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

, located on the east coast of Belize. In the wake of this destruction the

government of Belize His Majesty's Government in Belize, also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize, a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from ...

agreed to relocate the capital further inland and it was during this time in 1961 that Belmopan was constructed from nothing but a thinly populated area of preserved bush otherwise known as jungle. During the construction of the new capital the local residents identified a need for a public library and the British Overseas Development Mission approved the funding of the Belmopan Public Library. The Honorable Santiago Perdomo, Ministry of Education, and Leo Bradley, Chief Librarian finally inaugurated the building in 1971 and the same building has been the location of the Belmopan Public Library for the last 41 years.

References

Belmopancityonline
Buildings and structures in Belmopan Libraries in Belize Library buildings completed in 1970 1970s establishments in Belize Libraries established in 1970 {{Library-struct-stub