New York Public Library, New York, United States

5Brendan S 5:00 PM Jan 7, 2023

Iconic public building
I’ve seen the Public Library in movies and photos but never thought there’d be much reason to visit it as a tourist attraction. I decided to go on a recent trip because it was open until 6, when many other sites close at 4. Inside, the architecture is as impressive as on the outside, with Baroque ceiling paintings and Beaux Arts style arches and marble interior. There are special exhibitions, including a large one with Treasures [of the Collection] that had rare books, cuneiform tablets, Dickens’s desk, the original Winnie the Pooh “family,” documents handwritten by famous people and other ephemera. It’s free to visit and while some of the rooms are restricted from public touring (it is a library after all), the interior and exterior are impressive.

5Rumples 5:00 PM Feb 18, 2023

"I have always imagined that Paradise would be a kind of library." Jorge Luis Borges
My little piece of Paradise in New York City has always been the main branch of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue. Each time I visit the Big Apple, I make it a point to visit this gorgeous Beaux Arts building. Once I climb the exterior steps, flanked by the building's two famous marble lions (Patience and Fortitude) and pass through the entrance to marble-clad halls, a sense of peace embraces me. I think about the millions of books here and the comfort that reading has brought to me for decades. I generally proceed quickly to the magnificent Rose Reading Room, almost the size of a football field, on the third floor. There, I sit for a while, reading or writing but always enjoying a quiet respite from the busy city in an elegant setting. During my stop in January, however, I put the Reading Room on temporary hold to see "Treasures," the library's first permanent exhibition, which had recently opened and was free to enter. Located on the first floor, a selection of wonderful items with a literary connection, from 56 million in the library's collection, fill Gottesman Hall, Though a free audio guide was available, I opted to read the information panels on the various showcases, which cover 4,000 years, from the beginning of the written word to the present. Themes ranged from Children's Literature to Performance. One of my favorites was a 5-inch silver disc that accompanied the first edition of Amelia Earhart's, "The Fun of it: Random Records of My Own Flying and Women in Aviation." The disc contains excerpts from a broadcast Earhart made after completing the first solo crossing of the Atlantic by a female pilot. Other favorites included Thomas Jefferson's handwritten copy of the "Declaration of Independence" and Charles Dickens' desk, writing slope, lamp and chair. Hours, information about free tours and a map to download are available on the library's website.