The city of Clarksburg, West Virginia hired Breuer to design the new central branch of the city and county public library system in early 1973. Breuer and his partner, Hamilton P. Smith, took their cue from the materials used for many other buildings in the town, utilizing brick for the exterior material. But the library was also a departure for the Appalachian town. The two-story box featured glazed voids punched into the otherwise planar facades and deep overhangs. Garden courtyards, enclosed by five-foot high walls provided private spaces for patrons to read, and a large, windowed area marked the entrance and allowed natural light to penetrate the reading room on the second floor.