Handbook of The New York Public Library

CENTRAL BUILDING THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
1916
Copyright, 1916, by The New York Public Library
FIRST FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
THIRD FLOOR
BASEMENT
Open: Week days, including holidays, 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. Sundays, 1 P.M. to 10 P.M.
(Except where otherwise noted these are the hours of the special reading rooms.)

The Central Building of The New York Public Library is on the western side of Fifth Avenue, occupying the two blocks between 40th and 42nd Streets. It stands on part of the site of the old Croton distributing reservoir, and it was built by the City of New York at a cost of about nine million dollars.
Competitions to choose the architect for the building were held in 1897, two years after The New York Public Library was incorporated. The result of the competition was the selection of Messrs. Carrère and Hastings, of New York, as architects. In 1899 the work of removing the old reservoir began. Various legal difficulties and labor troubles delayed beginning the construction of the building, but by November 10, 1902, the work had progressed so far that the cornerstone was laid. The building was opened to the public May 23, 1911, in the presence of the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of New York, the Mayor of New York, and an audience of about six hundred persons.