Public Library, Grade 2 Listed, built 1898-1900 designed by Maurice B. Adams for English philanthropist John Passmore Edwards. The interior is unremarkable, but the extravagant, redbrick and bath stone Edwardian Baroque façade consists of a large gable pierced by an ornamented, oriel window with projecting two-storey bays on either side. The one on the left includes sculptures of an atalante and a catyrid (to which, in an inspired move, someone has added red paint in the manner of lipstick). Handsome, stone mullioned windows with art nouveau glasswork throughout the original structure. A side wing to the left has an extra storey added in the 1930's.

The Passmore Edwards Library at Acton was opened in 1900 by the American Ambassador Joseph Choate. Named after John Passmore Edwards who paid £4,000 of the £6,690 building costs. Choate, like Passmore Edwards supported the temperance movement, An attractive free public lending library with some 8,000 volumes of wholesome literature was created, in part, as an alternative for the poor to the vice (as they saw it) of alcohol to be found in the many brightly lit pubs Acton then supported. During its working life, the large number of industrial premises in the area meant the library had a technical section, which in the 1950's and 1960's had the reputation of being the best in West London. Together with the [now former] Town Hall, the swimming baths and [also former] Magistrates’ Court, this group of buildings gave Acton a civic centre. Even today, people remember the library with affection, with the Children’s’ library a particularly popular facility. Despite its iconic appearance, its status as an Asset of Community Value, its history and its central location, it has not been of any benefit to the community since it closed in 2014 - until now…

The Acton Arts Project took on the challenge, with the support of the local community, of bringing fresh life to the building and were successful in a bid for the lease of the building in October 2019. A crowdfunding campaign in November and December 2019 raised over £115,000. A planning application, supported positively by 470 Acton residents, was successfully approved in September 2020. A second crowdfunding campaign for the initial phase of the project, raised over £60,000 and was supported by the Mayor of London. The lease was signed on 21st April 2021. With significant volunteer support, work on re-purposing the ground floor of the building was carried out from May to August and the fit out and technical aspects of the cinema being completed in September. The official opening of the newly named ActOne Cinema was on 8th October 2021 when the James bond film “No Time To Die” was screened to sell-out audiences. The cinema has since been operational every day except Christmas Day. Acton Arts Project is partnering with the team at Rio Cinemas to use their programming facilities and marketing skills to establish an audience for this cinema.
A cafe/bar is situated in front of the building where the natural light is optimal, and customers have easy access to either the cinema or the Gallery.
The upper two floors of the building are occupied by “Global Skills” an educational training company. Plans are now in hand to convert the space currently available as a gallery to become the second screen.