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Central Library (Brooklyn Public Library)
The Central Library, originally the Ingersoll Memorial Library, is the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, New York City. Located on Grand Army Plaza, at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway, it contains over 1.7 million materials in its collection and has a million annual visitors. The current structure was designed by the partnership of Alfred Morton Githens and Francis Keally in the Art Deco style, replacing a never-completed Beaux-Arts structure designed by Raymond Almirall. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The site of the library was selected in 1905, but groundbreaking for the Brooklyn Central Library did not begin until 1912. Escalating costs and political infighting slowed construction throughout the next two decades, and only the Flatbush Avenue wing of Almirall's building was ever completed. In 1935, Githens and Keally were commissioned to redesign the building in the Art Deco style; construction recommenced in 1938, and Almirall's building on Flatbush Avenue was largely demolished. The Central Library opened to the public on February 1, 1941, and its second floor opened in the mid-1950s. The structure was significantly renovated in the 1970s, 2000s, and 2020s.
The Central Library is a four-story building that resembles an open book as viewed from the air. The modern facade is made of limestone and contains relatively little ornamentation, except around the main entrance on Grand Army Plaza. The main entrance facade, accessed by a raised terrace, is curved and contains various inscriptions, in addition to tall, gilded columns by C. Paul Jennewein and a screen by Thomas Hudson Jones. The Flatbush Avenue wing to the southeast is longer than the Eastern Parkway wing to the east; both wings contain decorative windows and additional entrances. The library's 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m2) interior is centered around a triple-height circulation room. There are various reading rooms on the first through third stories, as well as an auditorium beneath the main entrance terrace.
The Brooklyn Central Library is in the central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the border of the Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights neighborhoods. It is located on a roughly triangular site facing Eastern Parkway to the north, Grand Army Plaza to the northwest, and Flatbush Avenue to the southwest. The site has dimensions of 610 feet (190 m) on Flatbush Avenue, 581 ft (177 m) to the east, and 416 ft (127 m) on Eastern Parkway. The main entrance, at the northeast corner of the building, is recessed behind a raised terrace. The Central Library's main entrance faces the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch within Grand Army Plaza, the primary gateway to Prospect Park, to the west. The building shares a large city block with Mount Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Museum to the east and southeast.
The library building is part of a larger land lot along the eastern side of Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Empire Boulevard. The then-independent city of Brooklyn had acquired this land in the 1860 for the creation of modern-day Prospect Park. Egbert Viele's first proposal for Prospect Park, in 1861, called for the park to straddle Flatbush Avenue. Land acquisition began in 1860, but the onset of the American Civil War delayed further development of the park; following the war, the land to the east of Flatbush Avenue was excluded from the park. The Mount Prospect site went unused until the late 1880s, when a library was proposed for a portion of the site. Mount Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden occupied the remainder of the site.
As early as April 1889, Brooklyn's park commissioners had recommended constructing a Brooklyn central library near Grand Army Plaza, just outside Prospect Park. The Brooklyn Public Library system was approved by an Act of Legislature of the State of New York on May 3, 1892. The BPL opened its first branch library, the Bedford Library at PS 3 in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in December 1897; this branch moved among various buildings, including a former mansion at 26 Brevoort Place. Although the formerly independent city of Brooklyn became part of the City of Greater New York in 1898, the BPL declined to merge with the New York Public Library (NYPL). In the long run, the BPL wanted to build a central library and a series of branch libraries throughout the borough of Brooklyn.
By March 1900, the BPL's directors were planning to construct a central library in Brooklyn; the New York State Legislature had provided $500,000 (equivalent to $18.9 million in 2024) for the construction of such a structure. That May, the BPL's board voted to recommend that the central library be built along Eastern Parkway, as close as possible to Grand Army Plaza. Andrew Carnegie donated $1.6 million (equivalent to $60.5 million in 2024) to BPL for the construction of 20 Carnegie branch libraries in 1901, but the New York City government would only appropriate money for a central library after funding for the branch libraries had been secured. Carnegie also considered funding the central library under the condition that the BPL, the private Brooklyn Library, and the Long Island Historical Society combined their collections. At the time, several sites for a central library building were being considered, including a plot at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Herkimer Street in Bedford–Stuyvesant. The Brooklyn Library merged its sizable reference collection with that of the BPL in 1902, but the Long Island Historical Society refused to merge with the other two libraries.
Although BPL president David A. Boody urged the creation of a central library for Brooklyn, the trustees wished to first build several of the 20 Carnegie branches. By mid-1904. a committee had been created to identify and recommend sites for the Brooklyn Central Library. After a year of consultations, consulting architect A. D. F. Hamlin recommended in May 1905 that the central library be constructed at Grand Army Plaza; mayor George B. McClellan Jr. authorized the selection of that site shortly afterward. Various persons opposed the site for its small size, irregular shape, and distance from Downtown Brooklyn. New York City's parks commissioner wanted the plaza site to be used as parkland, and the director of the Brooklyn Museum wanted the site for future expansion of the museum. At McClellan's request, Carrère and Hastings, the architects of the NYPL's main branch, determined in November 1905 that Grand Army Plaza was a suitable site for a central library. The next month, the BPL's site-selection committee ratified the selection of the Plaza site. The plaza was already well served by public transit, and there were plans to extend the New York City Subway to the area.
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Central Library (Brooklyn Public Library)
The Central Library, originally the Ingersoll Memorial Library, is the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, New York City. Located on Grand Army Plaza, at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway, it contains over 1.7 million materials in its collection and has a million annual visitors. The current structure was designed by the partnership of Alfred Morton Githens and Francis Keally in the Art Deco style, replacing a never-completed Beaux-Arts structure designed by Raymond Almirall. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The site of the library was selected in 1905, but groundbreaking for the Brooklyn Central Library did not begin until 1912. Escalating costs and political infighting slowed construction throughout the next two decades, and only the Flatbush Avenue wing of Almirall's building was ever completed. In 1935, Githens and Keally were commissioned to redesign the building in the Art Deco style; construction recommenced in 1938, and Almirall's building on Flatbush Avenue was largely demolished. The Central Library opened to the public on February 1, 1941, and its second floor opened in the mid-1950s. The structure was significantly renovated in the 1970s, 2000s, and 2020s.
The Central Library is a four-story building that resembles an open book as viewed from the air. The modern facade is made of limestone and contains relatively little ornamentation, except around the main entrance on Grand Army Plaza. The main entrance facade, accessed by a raised terrace, is curved and contains various inscriptions, in addition to tall, gilded columns by C. Paul Jennewein and a screen by Thomas Hudson Jones. The Flatbush Avenue wing to the southeast is longer than the Eastern Parkway wing to the east; both wings contain decorative windows and additional entrances. The library's 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m2) interior is centered around a triple-height circulation room. There are various reading rooms on the first through third stories, as well as an auditorium beneath the main entrance terrace.
The Brooklyn Central Library is in the central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the border of the Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights neighborhoods. It is located on a roughly triangular site facing Eastern Parkway to the north, Grand Army Plaza to the northwest, and Flatbush Avenue to the southwest. The site has dimensions of 610 feet (190 m) on Flatbush Avenue, 581 ft (177 m) to the east, and 416 ft (127 m) on Eastern Parkway. The main entrance, at the northeast corner of the building, is recessed behind a raised terrace. The Central Library's main entrance faces the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch within Grand Army Plaza, the primary gateway to Prospect Park, to the west. The building shares a large city block with Mount Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Museum to the east and southeast.
The library building is part of a larger land lot along the eastern side of Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Empire Boulevard. The then-independent city of Brooklyn had acquired this land in the 1860 for the creation of modern-day Prospect Park. Egbert Viele's first proposal for Prospect Park, in 1861, called for the park to straddle Flatbush Avenue. Land acquisition began in 1860, but the onset of the American Civil War delayed further development of the park; following the war, the land to the east of Flatbush Avenue was excluded from the park. The Mount Prospect site went unused until the late 1880s, when a library was proposed for a portion of the site. Mount Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden occupied the remainder of the site.
As early as April 1889, Brooklyn's park commissioners had recommended constructing a Brooklyn central library near Grand Army Plaza, just outside Prospect Park. The Brooklyn Public Library system was approved by an Act of Legislature of the State of New York on May 3, 1892. The BPL opened its first branch library, the Bedford Library at PS 3 in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in December 1897; this branch moved among various buildings, including a former mansion at 26 Brevoort Place. Although the formerly independent city of Brooklyn became part of the City of Greater New York in 1898, the BPL declined to merge with the New York Public Library (NYPL). In the long run, the BPL wanted to build a central library and a series of branch libraries throughout the borough of Brooklyn.
By March 1900, the BPL's directors were planning to construct a central library in Brooklyn; the New York State Legislature had provided $500,000 (equivalent to $18.9 million in 2024) for the construction of such a structure. That May, the BPL's board voted to recommend that the central library be built along Eastern Parkway, as close as possible to Grand Army Plaza. Andrew Carnegie donated $1.6 million (equivalent to $60.5 million in 2024) to BPL for the construction of 20 Carnegie branch libraries in 1901, but the New York City government would only appropriate money for a central library after funding for the branch libraries had been secured. Carnegie also considered funding the central library under the condition that the BPL, the private Brooklyn Library, and the Long Island Historical Society combined their collections. At the time, several sites for a central library building were being considered, including a plot at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Herkimer Street in Bedford–Stuyvesant. The Brooklyn Library merged its sizable reference collection with that of the BPL in 1902, but the Long Island Historical Society refused to merge with the other two libraries.
Although BPL president David A. Boody urged the creation of a central library for Brooklyn, the trustees wished to first build several of the 20 Carnegie branches. By mid-1904. a committee had been created to identify and recommend sites for the Brooklyn Central Library. After a year of consultations, consulting architect A. D. F. Hamlin recommended in May 1905 that the central library be constructed at Grand Army Plaza; mayor George B. McClellan Jr. authorized the selection of that site shortly afterward. Various persons opposed the site for its small size, irregular shape, and distance from Downtown Brooklyn. New York City's parks commissioner wanted the plaza site to be used as parkland, and the director of the Brooklyn Museum wanted the site for future expansion of the museum. At McClellan's request, Carrère and Hastings, the architects of the NYPL's main branch, determined in November 1905 that Grand Army Plaza was a suitable site for a central library. The next month, the BPL's site-selection committee ratified the selection of the Plaza site. The plaza was already well served by public transit, and there were plans to extend the New York City Subway to the area.