The New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

With Ginny Poleman

[Virtual tour] Founded in 1895, New York Public Library is the nation’s largest public library system with 92 locations including the imposing Beaux Arts main branch on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, opened in 1911. Tour guide Ginny Poleman will tell us about the collection’s foundation from Gilded Age robber barons like Astor, Carnegie, Lenox, and one New York’s Governors, Samuel J. Tilden. See vintage photos of the library’s site including the Egyptian pyramid-inspired Croton Distributing Reservoir and images of the design and construction of its marble library building. From there, with the financial investment from Andrew Carnegie, the NYPL’s circulating library expanded the reach. Hear about the collection, including the original toys that inspired the Winnie the Pooh books; how the lion sculptures out front, Patience & Fortitude, got their names; and discover the significance of the location in Midtown Manhattan. We’ll also examine the latest news on the library’s renovations and new branches like the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library; the Jefferson Market Library; and the newest – a converted former chocolate factory, the Mulberry Street Branch in SoHo.

Registration is now closed.

Wednesday, December 6
6:00 PM

Virtual Tour

Tickets:
Member: $15
Non-member: $25

The main New York Public Library in Manhattan, 1911. Photo: Library of Congress.