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LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library is located at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, New York City. Founded in 1899 and renamed in the 1990s for LuEsther Mertz, it is the United States' largest botanical research library, and the first library whose collection focused exclusively on botany.
The library contains large collections of books relating to botany and horticulture, and are used for studies in fields such as history, anthropology, landscape and building design, architectural history, ethnobotany, economic botany, urban social history, and environmental policy. Its holdings include current scholarly books and serials, as well as many rare and historically important works.
Robert W. Gibson designed the Renaissance Revival style building in 1896; it was finished five years later. The four-story structure, originally known as the Museum Building and later as the Administration Building, has a facade of gray-buff brick with buff terracotta. The sculptural Fountain of Life, as well as a tree-lined avenue called the Tulip Tree Allee, are located outside the front entrance. All three were included as contributing resources when the NYBG was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967; in 2009 they were made New York City designated landmarks.
An act of the New York State Legislature, passed in 1891, set aside land within Bronx Park in the north-central part of the Bronx for the creation of the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) on the condition that a board of directors raise $250,000 ($7.86 million in today's dollars) for the site. Prominent civic leaders and financiers agreed to match the City's commitment to finance the buildings and improvements. By May 1895, sufficient funds had been raised, but the plans for the NYBG had not been finalized. The Board of Directors then asked landscape architect Calvert Vaux and his partner, Parks Superintendent Samuel Parsons Jr., to consult on site selection.
A topographical survey was completed in March 1896. As part of the topographical survey, a three-story museum with 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) of space was planned for the grounds of the NYBG, near the main entrance at Southern Boulevard and Bedford Park Boulevard. It would be the first museum in the U.S. with a collection focused specifically and exclusively on botany. The board selected the museum site for its hilltop location 1,000 feet (300 m) east of the Botanical Garden station of the New York Central Railroad (now Metro-North Railroad), which made the building easily accessible from other locations. A design contest for the museum was held, attracting firms and architects like Ernest Flagg, William Appleton Potter, N. Le Brun & Sons, Parish & Schroeder, and Clinton & Russell. Robert W. Gibson won the commission and filed building plans with the New York City Department of Buildings in November 1896. In January 1897, the city authorized the NYBG to proceed with construction of the museum.
By July 1897, construction was delayed due to disputes over whether the presence of the museum and the NYBG conservatory would detract from the naturalistic look of the rest of the garden. The magazine American Architect and Architecture, calling these objections "an unfortunate controversy", reported that the New York City parks commissioners had already hired the respective architects for the museum and conservatory, and were applying for construction funds for both projects. The New York City Board of Estimate again blocked the $500,000 appropriation in mid-September 1897, citing the concerns about the building's aesthetics and possible cost overruns, before approving it at the end of that month. A request for bids was opened, and 12 contractors submitted construction bids the following month, with the John H. Parker Company submitting the least expensive bid. After the city invalidated these bids, another request for proposals was opened. Seven contractors submitted bids, of which Parker's was again the cheapest.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on December 31, 1897, to mark the start of construction. By May 1898, construction had started on the brick walls. By September 1898, according to The New York Times, the steel frame was 75 percent finished and the exterior walls had been built up to the second floor. The city approved the disbursement of another $200,000 in bonds that November. A contract to build the "front central portico" was carried out between July and October 1899. According to a Brooklyn Daily Eagle article in March 1900, the building had "just been completed". The NYBG's contract with John H. Parker ended the next month, with work on the end pavilions' ornamentation being delayed.
The library initially had 2,500 volumes; in 1899, Columbia College donated another 5,000 from its botanical collection. In April 1901, Wilson & Baillie Manufacturing were contracted to build the fountain at the Museum Building's main entrance, as well as the front approaches and cornice ornamentation.
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LuEsther T. Mertz Library
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library is located at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, New York City. Founded in 1899 and renamed in the 1990s for LuEsther Mertz, it is the United States' largest botanical research library, and the first library whose collection focused exclusively on botany.
The library contains large collections of books relating to botany and horticulture, and are used for studies in fields such as history, anthropology, landscape and building design, architectural history, ethnobotany, economic botany, urban social history, and environmental policy. Its holdings include current scholarly books and serials, as well as many rare and historically important works.
Robert W. Gibson designed the Renaissance Revival style building in 1896; it was finished five years later. The four-story structure, originally known as the Museum Building and later as the Administration Building, has a facade of gray-buff brick with buff terracotta. The sculptural Fountain of Life, as well as a tree-lined avenue called the Tulip Tree Allee, are located outside the front entrance. All three were included as contributing resources when the NYBG was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967; in 2009 they were made New York City designated landmarks.
An act of the New York State Legislature, passed in 1891, set aside land within Bronx Park in the north-central part of the Bronx for the creation of the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) on the condition that a board of directors raise $250,000 ($7.86 million in today's dollars) for the site. Prominent civic leaders and financiers agreed to match the City's commitment to finance the buildings and improvements. By May 1895, sufficient funds had been raised, but the plans for the NYBG had not been finalized. The Board of Directors then asked landscape architect Calvert Vaux and his partner, Parks Superintendent Samuel Parsons Jr., to consult on site selection.
A topographical survey was completed in March 1896. As part of the topographical survey, a three-story museum with 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) of space was planned for the grounds of the NYBG, near the main entrance at Southern Boulevard and Bedford Park Boulevard. It would be the first museum in the U.S. with a collection focused specifically and exclusively on botany. The board selected the museum site for its hilltop location 1,000 feet (300 m) east of the Botanical Garden station of the New York Central Railroad (now Metro-North Railroad), which made the building easily accessible from other locations. A design contest for the museum was held, attracting firms and architects like Ernest Flagg, William Appleton Potter, N. Le Brun & Sons, Parish & Schroeder, and Clinton & Russell. Robert W. Gibson won the commission and filed building plans with the New York City Department of Buildings in November 1896. In January 1897, the city authorized the NYBG to proceed with construction of the museum.
By July 1897, construction was delayed due to disputes over whether the presence of the museum and the NYBG conservatory would detract from the naturalistic look of the rest of the garden. The magazine American Architect and Architecture, calling these objections "an unfortunate controversy", reported that the New York City parks commissioners had already hired the respective architects for the museum and conservatory, and were applying for construction funds for both projects. The New York City Board of Estimate again blocked the $500,000 appropriation in mid-September 1897, citing the concerns about the building's aesthetics and possible cost overruns, before approving it at the end of that month. A request for bids was opened, and 12 contractors submitted construction bids the following month, with the John H. Parker Company submitting the least expensive bid. After the city invalidated these bids, another request for proposals was opened. Seven contractors submitted bids, of which Parker's was again the cheapest.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on December 31, 1897, to mark the start of construction. By May 1898, construction had started on the brick walls. By September 1898, according to The New York Times, the steel frame was 75 percent finished and the exterior walls had been built up to the second floor. The city approved the disbursement of another $200,000 in bonds that November. A contract to build the "front central portico" was carried out between July and October 1899. According to a Brooklyn Daily Eagle article in March 1900, the building had "just been completed". The NYBG's contract with John H. Parker ended the next month, with work on the end pavilions' ornamentation being delayed.
The library initially had 2,500 volumes; in 1899, Columbia College donated another 5,000 from its botanical collection. In April 1901, Wilson & Baillie Manufacturing were contracted to build the fountain at the Museum Building's main entrance, as well as the front approaches and cornice ornamentation.
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