Attraction And History Of The New York Public Library

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The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building stands as one of Manhattan’s most magnificent public landmarks. Located at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, the building is far more than a tourist attraction. It is a monument to learning, philanthropy, architecture, and the idea that a great city should make knowledge available to everyone. From its roots in the collections of Samuel J. Tilden, John Jacob Astor, and James Lenox to its Beaux-Arts design, marble halls, grand staircases, reading rooms, and world-famous lions, the New York Public Library remains one of the most inspiring places in New York City.

Only in New York can a public library become a popular tourist attraction. With the exception of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the New York Public Library in Manhattan, also known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, is probably the most well-known library in the United States. It is important to distinguish the definition of the New York Public Library. The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is the centerpiece of the New York Public Library system. We will refer to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building as the New York Public Library for the remainder of this article, as it traces the history of the New York Public Library. That history began with its main branch at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, which is located at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. However, the New York Public Library is a system of libraries located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Queens and Brooklyn have their own unique library systems. The New York Public Library hosts 92 branches.

Millions of people walk past the two lions, Patience and Fortitude, into the great halls of Manhattan’s New York Public Library every year. Many of those people are tourists eager to get a glimpse of one of the world’s most famous libraries. Most people don’t think of a library as a tourist attraction. However, if you have been to the New York Public Library in Manhattan during the summer months, you will be blown away by how many tourists enter the building every day.

Like many historic churches in New York City, such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the New York Public Library offers free admission. Visitors to New York City are used to paying extremely high prices for attractions, so seeing a highly attractive and historic building such as the New York Public Library for free is an experience too tempting for most travelers. However, since so many people simply want to experience the New York Public Library from a tourist perspective, many of the rooms are roped off to separate tourists from patrons. If you’re someone who uses the library for research, reading, or typical library use, it can be frustrating having tourists stare at you while you read. However, that’s New York.

Early History Of The New York Public Library

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The origins of the New York Public Library date to the Progressive Era, which most historians describe as the period between 1890 and 1920. The American Industrial Revolution, also known as the Second Industrial Revolution, began in the mid-1800s and led to a series of problems that the Progressive Era sought to address. As the muckrakers identified issues in labor, housing, and despair, some of the wealthiest families turned to philanthropy. Libraries, museums, and schools were beneficiaries of philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie, the Rockefellers, the Astors, and others. However, the plans for a large public library in New York were planted in the will of New York’s Governor Samuel J. Tilden.

Origins Of The New York Public Library: Samuel J. Tilden

Unlike the robber barons and founders of industry, Samuel J. Tilden had focused on law and politics. Tilden had been born into a wealthy family but spent his life fighting against corruption. His political career included a run for President of the United States. By the time of his death, Samuel J. Tilden had accumulated a personal wealth of over seven million dollars. In his will, Samuel J. Tilden directed his fortune to be used to build a free public library in New York City. Tilden’s family contested the will. In the end, three million dollars of Samuel J. Tilden’s money was used to build what would become the New York Public Library. However, two other prominent New York families were also responsible for the founding of the New York Public Library, in addition to Samuel J. Tilden.

Origins Of The New York Public Library: The Astors

The wealthy Astor family had built a library in New York City in 1849. John Jacob Astor, who passed away in 1848, left close to half a million dollars in his will to establish a library. The library eventually drew criticism for its policy of not lending books and for keeping patrons out of the stacks where the books were stored. If you wanted a book to read, you had to ask a librarian to get it for you and read it in the library. In 1898, close to fifty years after the Astor Library had opened, the library’s trustees agreed to merge with the planned New York Public Library. The building that once housed the Astor Library at 425 Lafayette Street is now a theater complex, the Public Theater, funded by Joseph Papp.

Origins Of The New York Public Library: James Lenox

The Astor Library was not the only library to merge with the planned New York Public Library. The philanthropist James Lenox, a major book collector, had established the Lenox Library. The library had consisted mostly of books from his private collection. James Lenox was the son of Robert Lenox, a Scottish merchant who left his son a million-dollar fortune.

James Lenox studied law at Columbia University in New York City. James Lenox passed the bar exam but never practiced law. His life was dedicated to collecting rare books. One of the highlights of James Lenox’s collection was his ensemble of Bibles, including the Gutenberg Bible. The rare collection would eventually be merged with the New York Public Library.

The merger of the Lenox Library, Astor Library, and Samuel J. Tilden Trust money was arranged by New York attorney John Bigelow. The three entities would combine their collections and funds to build a public library that would become part of New York City’s emergence as one of the world’s new epicenters of culture and commerce.

Origins Of The New York Public Library: Croton Reservoir

The New York Public Library would be built on the land that had been the home of the Croton Reservoir. In the nineteenth century, the Croton Reservoir had supplied water to New York City through pipes fed by the Croton River in north Westchester County. The Croton Reservoir was an above-ground reservoir surrounded by concrete walls similar to the Oval Park Reservoir in the Bronx. The Croton Reservoir was located at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. The location is now served by both the New York Public Library and Bryant Park.

The New York Public Library Design

The building of the New York Public Library was led by the famous librarian Dr. John Shaw Billings. The design by Dr. John Shaw Billings called for a massive library filled with seven floors of stacks. The plans by Dr. John Shaw Billings were to also install a dumbwaiter system. While most dumbwaiter systems in city apartment buildings were designed for garbage disposal, the dumbwaiter system in the New York Public Library was a brilliant method of transporting books to the circulation desk quickly from the stacks.

Like all famous buildings in New York City, various architectural firms bid on the opportunity to build the library. The job was won by the architectural firm named Carrère and Hastings. The firm got its name from architects John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings. Both men had studied architecture in France at École des Beaux-Arts. The design and building of the New York Public Library was based on Beaux-Arts architecture that both men studied in France. The style was based in French Neoclassicism utilizing modern materials. Elements of Gothic and Renaissance art were also used in the plans.

The New York Public Library Opening Day

It took almost 16 years to build the New York Public Library. The Croton Reservoir had to be dismantled and the land made safe for building. The heavy marble and complex design of the library required many years of labor and money to complete. The New York Public Library officially opened its doors to the public on May 24, 1911.

Inside The New York Public Library

There is good reason why millions of people visit the New York Public Library each year. The interior of the library is mesmerizing, and the breadth of resources the New York Public Library holds is world-class in every respect. Through the front doors, visitors find themselves standing in the center of the great Astor Hall. There is a majestic feeling one gets standing in Astor Hall. The great staircase that lines the north and south sides of the room is breathtaking. The marble floors and walls are stunning. The lighting is dim as the hall is surrounded by low-lit, beautiful floor candelabras.

One aspect that is never mentioned when describing the New York Public Library is the hallways connecting the various departments. The halls that have been made out of marble stand quiet in passage, echoing all the brilliant minds of those who have passed through them. The hopes of those yearning to learn, live, read, and breathe in all the possibilities of what life has to offer seem to still resonate in those stone halls. Yes, it is poetic, but unless you’ve walked through those hallways, it’s difficult to understand.

The main reading room in the New York Public Library is astonishing in its sheer size. The room runs the length of a football field. Long wooden tables line both sides of the room in rows. Eighteen beautiful chandeliers hang from the ceilings, illuminating the room with a light that is easy on the eyes yet plentiful for reading. Large windows overlook the reading room. There are murals painted on the ceiling, although many have faded over the years. The New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building hosts multiple reading rooms, all with their own style and feel.

Old Phone Booths And Special Collections

One of our favorite finds in the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building was an ode to technology from the past that is still used today. In this world of cell phones, we found a pair of old phone booths. We are not talking about the metal phone booths of the 1960s through 2000s. These were the old classic phone booths from the 1920s through the 1960s. The phone booths still had the stools in them. However, the doors had been removed. In the old days, phone booths like those had doors that turned on a light when closed. It was nice to make a phone call in a quiet booth in a private setting. Those days are gone.

The New York Public Library has many different rooms housing special collections and exhibits. While we have focused so much on the history of the library and the building itself, the most important aspect of any library is the collection that it preserves for all to see. The New York Public Library claims to hold the largest collection of material of any free library in the world.

Visiting The New York Public Library

As a New Yorker, I have used the library many times. On my last visit, I took some pictures to share with our readers. If you are ever in New York City in the borough of Manhattan, plan a trip to the New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. It’s not far from Times Square, Penn Station, or even Union Square. You will find it an exhilarating experience.