When I was growing up in a small city in Illinois, I used to go to the public library often. I was as impressed by all the books as I was by the gorgeous building that housed them. My hometown library building is now a museum but, the main New York City public library is still sitting prominently on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street and it still draws thousands of people every day.
I had visited this library many years ago and was impressed by the beauty of the place so on this recent trip to New York, I made a point of visiting again. As you can see from the top two photos, it is not an ordinary building.
The stacks and the reading rooms are on the upper floors and the open space leading to the reading rooms is called the McGraw Rotunda. The area is surrounded by murals on all sides and overhead on the ceiling. It's a beautiful space and as you can see from he above photo, it draws a lot of attention.
The murals didn't stop in the rotunda. The ceiling inside one of the reading rooms also features a beautiful mural of the sky. I love this room. I can picture my teenage self sitting at one of those desks and studying.
Isn't this a beautiful room with those wonderful tables with the lamps on top. It just seems like the perfect place to read and learn.
There are so many places to see in a city like New York City so I'm guessing the public library isn't on everyone's list but, if you love architecture and history, you will find this place inspiring.
5 comments:
Such an awesome building! The people at the reading desks look a bit older than their teen years. I do hope that the younger people can take their eyes off of their cell phones long enough to see the beauty around them.
It is exquisitely beautiful.
I'm so glad you included a photo of one of the lions.
It would definitely be on my list Sharon.. oh la! Books AND incroyable architecture, what a brilliant mix, such a joy to see, merci beaucoup 💙💜
This is what a library should look like! It's absolutely gorgeous. I could spend days in there.
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