History and architecture
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 expressive way that phase of early Victorian architecture when architects re-interpreted classic academic forms to promote original experimentation in their design.
The Library is a three-story brick and stone building with basement and attic story. This structure has special value because each of the three portions of its development has been carefully maintained and constituted a source of stylistic influence over a wide area. Modifications for the most part have been few. The Library is developed in a symmetrical plan in an early Renaissance manner. Most of the architectural details of the building stem from North Italian Renaissance work of the first half of the 15th century.
The building has important historical associations. It was built as a major contribution to the City by a family which has been an important factor in New York's development. The library was the first great classical library broadly accessible to the public and set the example for such institutions as the Morgan Library and the Huntington Library. In this century this building has been the place where thousands of persons have been helped by another leading private charitable organization.
At the public hearing, the representative of The Washington Square Association said, "This sturdy building, a dignified example of mid-19th century architecture, can have many years of useful life ahead and, if kept up, will continue to form an anchor in the anticipated renewal of an otherwise rundown section at the edge of our neighborhood."
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.