History and architecture
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 circulating library system during the period of peak expansion prior to consolidation with the New York Public Library. A distinguished eighteenth-century French Classic style design inspired by Italian Renaissance and other related sources, it is one of four pre-Carnegie era library buildings in New York City and serves as a reminder of the legacy of private philanthropic support of the city's libraries during the nineteenth century.
The design of the building, constructed in 1898, by James Brown Lord, architect of the New York Appellate Division Courthouse, appears to have been an influential prototype in the development of the urban branch library, as demonstrated by the design program for the Carnegie gift branch buildings constructed in the early years of the twentieth century. The building, which remains virtually unchanged from the original design, served as the Bloomingdale Branch of the New York Public Library until 1960 and continues in use as a library and research facility for the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.