Building type
Manhattan's library landmarks range from neighborhood branches to major research buildings.
Compare the main New York Public Library with the Ottendorfer and Seward Park branches. Their entrances and facades show how library buildings differ in scale and setting.
16 building histories
Library · 1907-08
203 E 115th Street, New York, NY
To come unexpectedly upon the 115th Street Branch of the New York Public Library on a residential street occupied primarily by four and five-story brown- stones, is to experience a pleasant surprise. Such is the...
Read the storyLibrary · 1849-1881
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
The Astor Library is one of the most important Victorian public buildings remaining today in New York City. It is a key building in recording the continuum of New York City architecture. This building records in an...
Read the storyLibrary · 1903
31 E Broadway, New York, NY
Opened on November 2, 1903, the Chatham Square Branch of The New York Public Library is the third Carnegie branch library built in New York City. It is one of twenty in Manhattan and one of sixty-seven in New York City,...
Read the storyLibrary · 1898
206 West 100th Street, New York, NY
The New York Free Circulating Library, Bloomingdale Branch, was the only building commissioned and built by the New York Free Circulating Library and as such is an expression of the library's commitment to the branch...
Read the storyLibrary · 1905-06
505 West 145th Street, New York, NY
The Hamilton Grange Branch Library, built by McKim, Mead & White in 1905-6 in the style of the Italian Renaissance, has the true character of a Florentine palazzo. This three-story stone building shows The sensitivity...
Read the storyLibrary · 1895-97
Low Memorial Library, New York, NY
Low Memorial Library is a majestic building of truly monumental proportions. It is situated on a slight rise overlooking the south campus of Columbia University. This Roman stone building, designed in the form of a...
Read the storyLibrary · 1906
209 W 23rd Street, New York, NY
Opened on February 19, 1906, the neoClassical Muhlenberg Branch was the eleventh Carnegie branch built in Manhattan and the twenty-eighth of sixty-seven branch libraries built in New York City, with Andrew Carnegie's...
Read the storyLibrary · 1898-1911
476 5th Avenue, New York, NY
The Central Building of the New York Public Library occupies a fabulous site, that has often been referred to as "the crossroads of the world". This majestic marble building, one of the masterpieces of the Beaux-Arts...
Read the storyLibrary · 1904
224 East 125th Street, New York, NY
The 125th Street Branch of The New York Public Library is notable for being one of the Carnegie libraries and a significant Renaissance Revival style building by the important firm of McKim, Mead, & White.
Read the storyLibrary · 1898-99
174 East 110th Street, New York, NY
The Aguilar Branch of the New York Public Library initially was built for the Aguilar Free Library Society, which was founded in 1886 as an independent library to provide circulating books for immigrant Jews. The...
Read the storyLibrary · 1914-15
518 West 125th Street, New York, NY
The striking brick and limestone George Bruce Library building is an excellent example of Georgian Revival-style civic architecture, designed by the prominent architecture firm of Carrere & Hastings. The firm is noted...
Read the storyLibrary · 1904-05
103 West 135th Street, New York, NY
Built as the West 135th Street Branch Library, the former Schomburg Collection building at 103 West 135th Street was designed in 1904 by the eminent firm of McKim, Mead & White. Small and dignified, the structure is one...
Read the storyLibrary · 1908-09
192 East Broadway, New York, NY
The Seward Park Branch of the New York Public Library has served the immigrant community of the Lower East Side since it opened its doors on November 11, 1909. This building was one of 20 branch libraries in Manhattan...
Read the storyLibrary · 1916-17
53 East 79th Street, New York, NY
The New York Society Library occupies a mansion of exceptional architectural character and distinction. This five-story limestone structure in the Italian Renaissance Style has great dignity. Trowbridge and Livingston,...
Read the storyLibrary · 1904
331 East 10th Street, New York, NY
Opened on December 1, 1904, the Tompkins Square Branch of The New York Public Library is one of the earliest Carnegie branch libraries in New York City. It is one of twenty in Manhattan and one of sixty-seven in New...
Read the storyLibrary · 1902
222 East 79th Street, New York, NY
The Yorkville Public Library is one of New York's most elegant adaptations of the Palladian style to a modern public building and one of the few examples of this phase of Italian Renaissance architecture in New York....
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