OIR 79

_NOTE_

_Although the purpose of this Handbook is to tell the principal facts
about the Library as an institution, its chief use is likely to be that
of a guide to the Central Building. The section about the Central
Building is therefore given first place. Any visitor who cares to take
the trouble, before beginning his tour of the Building, to read the
brief historical sketch (on pages 63-73) will have a better
understanding of the organization and work of the Library, and see the
reasons for a number of things which might not otherwise be clear._

THE CENTRAL BUILDING

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

=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. Carrere 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.

=Exterior.= The material of the building is largely Vermont marble, and
the style that of the modern Renaissance, somewhat in the manner of the
period of Louis XVI, with certain modifications to suit the conditions
of to-day. It is rectangular in shape, 390 feet long and 270 feet deep,
built around two inner courts. It has a cellar, basement or ground
floor, and three upper floors.

[Illustration: MAIN ENTRANCE]

"The Library," wrote Mr. A. C. David, in the _Architectural Record_[1],
"is undeniably popular. It has already taken its place in the public
mind as a building of which every New Yorker may be proud, and t