The Schwarzman Library

SCHWARZMAN LIBRARY 

Welcoming thousands of visitors every year, The New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman building was opened in 1911 on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, at the time being the largest marble building in the United States. As you arrive in the beautiful marble building, you can’t help but immediately notice both stone lions “guarding” the building. Living through the great depression during the 1930’s, Mayor Fiorello named both lions Patience and Fortitude for he believed those were the skills americans needed in order to survive the hard times.



The famous new york landmark has a very dense cultural background, for it played in important role during the Great Depression as well as the Great Recession. During the depression, the emerging city had a strong need for a public library that could serve all citizens. The NYPD was able to maintain 7 days of service and 82 hours a week, being a place where citizens felt a purpose despite the hard times.



Due to expense cuts, the library had reductions in hours and service, but still opening at least 6 times a week. the NYPL became a support system for many americans, taking advantage of the programs the library offered to escape the crisis such as; resume writing and skill training workshops. As well as people who use the libraries job searching engine.

by. Cora Nina Rocha

New York has many historical sites to Central Park, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and even down to the Schwarzman Public Library. The Schwarzman Library took many years to complete but finally opened its doors in 1911, and it's located on 5th ave on 42 st. More than a million books were given to the library to honor it. Agreements, of course, had to be made between several partners but after sixteen years the Astor, Lenox, and Tilden foundation were then signed to finalize the library. The day of the opening up to 50,000 new yorkers/tourist went to see the grand opening and roam around the new public library. The Schwarzman has been useful for many occasions, for example, throughout World War 2 the military took advantage of the map division to research coastlines and combat inside the theater of combat. Some journalist also took part in the covering of the political issues with the soviet union. Authors would cite the library for a lot of their work. Even many people would go to the library to reveal some of their family histories as well. So many honorable things this library has to offer but what makes the library so special is how it still has an effect today. They're many minor details that stand about this famous library but what makes, the Schwarzman Library so special historically is the authenticity of it. When it comes down to architecture not much has changed, except minor changes to maintain the building.  A lot of people still find the Schwarzman Library resourceful. People use this library to read, study, work or even find important information. The Schwarzman library is historical and will forever be a major landmark in New York City!

By. Kiara Sutson

As we went to the Stephen A. Schwarzman library I discovered that its referred to as the “main branch”. It has changed over the years into one of the worlds biggest public resources for the studying of human thought, action, and experience. Some ways the Stephen A. Schwarzman library has been used according to (NYPL) is that “World war two, Allied military intelligence used the map division for research on the coastlines of countries in the theater of combat”. Another example would be that “ countless individuals have reconstructed family histories and located long- lost relatives through records in the Milsten Division of the U.S. History, Local History, and Genealogy”. In the 19th century, New York was already higher in population than Paris and was soon to be higher than london. People had the theory that if it was going to be a grand city with  the biggest centers of urban culture, then a library will be necessary. Samuel J. Tilden (1814-1886), wanted their to be a “ free library and reading room in the city of New York”. The two libraries that came to importance were the Astor Library and the Lenox Library. Unfortunately, none of those libraries were the way he pictured things at all. One Library that is very important and historic in New York is the Astor Library. It was created by John Astor (1763- 1848). He was a German immigrant who had written in his will that he wanted to put $400,000 towards the library. In 1849, the library immediately opened and now it is the home of the New York Shakespeare Festivals Joseph Papp Public Theater. The other majorly important library in New York was the Lenox library. This library was unique because it was all of his personal collections of rare books, which were the first ever Gutenberg Bible, manuscripts, and americana. It was for his bibliophiles and scholars. However, both libraries were in dept and got out of it several years later by doing the Bigelows plan.
By. Samantha Kashanian

The Schwarzman Library, in my opinion, is one of the many wonders of Manhattan, New York. The branch originally opened in 1911 and has become one of Manhattan's landmarks.  The Library's landscape and manufacturing itself is beautiful. The marble on the building is three feet thick, I bet that was costly. I mean you’re greeted with two marvelous lion structures named Patience and Fortitude named by late mayor, Fiorello La Guardia. Which I think is so heartwarming that he chose the names because he felt it represented the qualities the citizens of New York would need to get through the Great Depression. Other than being a place where hundreds of thousands of books are stored, the Schwarzman Library was also basically a safe house during the Great Depression for many civilians. Which helped many citizens during this time.  In addition, one thing that really caught my eye was how the real Winnie The Pooh dolls that the cartoon was based on was stored in the kid's area, in the library. As a fan of Winnie The Pooh when I was younger, it was impressive that they had these items and surprising at the same time. Other than that, I found the Schwarzman Library to be built magnificently and probably one of the best looking libraries I have ever seen. Libraries are normally built to be boring and quiet, but the Schwarzman Library is also a tourist spot because of how beautiful it is. There are several paintings that I also found to be so incredibly beautiful.  However, the Schwarzman Library didn’t catch my attention where I would go again. To me, the Schwarzman Library is a place I’d go to once and probably not visit again. Overall I would recommend for everyone to go to the Schwarzman Library at least once in their life.

By. Nethma Iddamalgodage 

This is a historic landmark of New York City, since May 21, 1911. It is also the largest municipal public library in the United States. It has many book of world's history, it has countless cultural handwriting. It's equal to all people, it's a library that doesn't need tickets, it's all free of charge, everyone can go in, anyone can Access to information, anyone can borrow books. It accompanied the United States through the Great Depression, quietly guarding the self-taught scholars. The library with a long history is still in its original form, with heavy wooden tables and Tiffany design lamps. Two stone lions stood at the door of the library, one called patient and the other is strong. The long traces of time are revealed everywhere.

By. Jiani Zhao