The renovated Rose Main Reading Room, New York Public Library Main Branch, New York City
The renovated Rose Main Reading Room, New York Public Library Main Branch, New York City (© Sascha Kilmer/Getty Images)
A palace for the public
May 23, 2021 marks the 110th anniversary of the opening of the New York Public Library's Main Branch (now known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building). Back just before the turn of the 20th century, a group of New York City business leaders decided that if their hometown was ever going to compete with Paris and London as a center of urban culture, it needed a great library.
© Sascha Kilmer/Getty Images