Muhlenberg Branch NY Public Library

History and architecture

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 190 I donation of $5.2 million to establish a citywide system. The distinguished and prolific architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings designed the Muhlenberg Branch as well thirteen other Carnegie branch libraries and the Main Building of The New York Public Library. The library building is characteristic of the urban Carnegie library type. It features a vertical plan and arched entrance offset to one side, tall, arched and rectangular windows providing abundant lighting, classically-inspired style, and carved stone ornament. The library has played a prominent role in Chelsea's social and civic life for nearly one hundred years.

The New York City Carnegie branch libraries share many design characteristics and are clearly recognizable as Carnegie libraries. They are separate and distinct structures, an innovation in 1901 when most of the branch libraries were located in other buildings. Each is classical in style, being a simplified version of the Beaux-Arts model. Architects preferred the classical style because it was the recognized style for public buildings in this period.

They are clad in limestone, or in brick with limestone trim. There are two distinct types, the urban and the suburban. The suburban branch is sited in the less densely built-up areas of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens. II is freestanding. one-to-two-stories high, located on a corner, and set back from the street on a lawn. The urban branch is located in densely populated Manhattan and sections of the Bronx. It is vertically oriented. sited on mid-block with buildings on both sides. and built to the building line.

The Muhlenberg Branch embodies the major characteristics of the urban branches. It is located in mid-block. in a prominent position on a busy cross street. The three-story, three-bay library building is faced in limestone, with large arched and rectangular windows. The entrance is at the side bay, like nearly all three-bay urban Carnegie libraries. The building is typically classical in style, with a prominent modillioned cornice lopped by a parapet with the words "New York Public Library" carved in the stone. The use of smooth limestone facades with first floor arched windows is a characteristic of both Carrere & Hastings and Babb, Cook & Willard Carnegie libraries, illustrating the collaboration of the architects through the architects' committee.