Birmingham Midland Institute

The Birmingham Midland Institute, formerly listed as The Birmingham Library, is a building constructed in 1899 by Cassins, Peacock and Bewlay. It features red brick with stone dressings and a green stone tiled roof. The structure has two storeys, a basement, and an attic, with a total of five bays. The outer bays are advanced and gabled, with the right bay being broader and taller than the left.

The ground floor includes a modern entrance with a three-light transomed window above, flanked by three four-light windows with transoms and bold voussoirs in the arches. The entrance is accessed via steps within an archway that is flanked by banded Ionic columns and arched panels. On the first floor, there is a three-light window and six two-light windows, which are separated by banded Ionic columns that alternate on the keystone of the windows below. These columns are supported by buttresses rising from the basement level. There is also a Serlian-type window with banded Ionic pilasters and a sculpted semi-circular panel above the centre light. Below these six windows is a sculpted band of Renaissance-type decoration. All first-floor windows have two transoms, and there is a richly decorated cornice and parapet above, behind which are three four-light flat-headed dormer windows. All windows are fitted with leaded lights.

The right-hand return on Cornwall Street has three bays and is similar in design to the Margaret Street elevation. There is no significant interior detail mentioned.