List of Carnegie libraries in New York City explained

The following list of Carnegie libraries in New York City provides detailed information on United States Carnegie libraries in New York City, where 67 libraries were built with funds from one grant totaling $5,202,261 (worth some $ million today), awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York on December 8, 1899. Although the original grant was negotiated in 1899, most of the grant money was awarded as the libraries were built between 1901 and 1923. Carnegie libraries were built in all 5 boroughs.

Key

Carnegie libraries in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island

In Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, 39 libraries were built and became part of the New York Public Library.

Carnegie libraries in Manhattan

	Library	Image	width=15% style="background-color:#CEE0F2;"	Location^[1]	Notes^[2]
align=center	1		115th Street		203 W. 115th St. 40.8028°N -73.9539°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1908.
align=center	2		125th Street		224 E. 125th St. 40.803°N -73.9349°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1904.
align=center	3		135th Street		103 W. 135th St. 40.8145°N -73.9414°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1905. Now part of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research center of The New York Public Library.
align=center	4		58th Street		121-7 East 58th Street	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened May 10, 1907. It was demolished and replaced by a new branch in two floors of an office tower at 127 East 58th Street, which opened in 1969.
align=center	5		67th Street		328 E. 67th St. 40.7649°N -73.9595°W	Designed by Babb, Cook & Willard in the style of the Yorkville branch and opened in 1905, this building has undergone two extensive renovations in the 1950s and 2005.
align=center	6		96th Street		112 E. 96th St. 40.786°N -73.9518°W	Designed by Babb, Cook & Willard and opened on September 22, 1905.
align=center	7		Aguilar		174 E. 110th St. 40.7942°N -73.9434°W	Designed by Herts & Tallant, this building opened as a branch of The New York Public Library in November 1905. "This library is apparently not an entirely new building but is rather an extensive renovation of the earlier [1899] Aguilar Library building on the same site."^[3]
align=center	8		Chatham Square		33 E. Broadway 40.7134°N -73.9965°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1903.
align=center	9		Columbus		742 10th Ave. 40.765°N -73.9913°W	Designed by Babb, Cook & Willard and opened in 1909.
align=center	10		Epiphany		228 E. 23rd St. 40.7381°N -73.982°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened in September 1907.
align=center	11		Fort Washington		535 W. 179th St. 40.8478°N -73.934°W	Designed by Cook & Welch and opened in April 1914.
align=center	12		Hamilton Fish		388-92 East Houston Street	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened in 1909, the building was razed during the widening of Houston Street. A public housing project now stands at its original site. A new Hamilton Fish Park Branch opened at 415 East Houston Street in 1960.
align=center	13		Hamilton Grange		503 W. 145th St. 40.8256°N -73.9481°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1907.
align=center	14		Harlem		9 W. 124th St. 40.8062°N -73.9433°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1909, this building was renovated in 2004 at a cost of nearly $4 million.
align=center	15		Hudson Park		66 Leroy St. 40.73°N -74.0052°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened in 1906.
align=center	16		Muhlenberg		209 W. 23rd St. 40.7445°N -73.996°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings, this branch opened February 19, 1906.
align=center	17		Riverside		190 Amsterdam Ave. 40.7766°N -73.9836°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened in 1905, this building stood until 1969, when it was replaced by a new one on the same 69th St site. That branch was replaced by another in 1992, at 127 Amsterdam Ave & 65th St.
align=center	18		Rivington Street		61 Rivington St. 40.7209°N -73.9902°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1905, the building is now a church.
align=center	19		Saint Agnes		444 Amsterdam Ave. 40.7848°N -73.9775°W	Designed by Babb, Cook & Willard, this branch opened in 1906.
align=center	20		Saint Gabriel's Park		303-5 East 36th Street	Designed by McKim, Mead & White and opened in 1908. Razed in order to construct the Queens–Midtown Tunnel.
align=center	21		Seward Park		192 E. Broadway 40.7145°N -73.9885°W	Designed by Babb, Cook & Willard, this branch opened on November 11, 1909.
align=center	22		Tompkins Square		331 E. 10th St. 40.7273°N -73.9804°W	Designed by McKim, Mead & White, this branch opened in 1904.
align=center	23		Washington Heights		1000 St. Nicholas Ave. 40.8345°N -73.9397°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings, this branch opened in 1914.
align=center	24		Webster		1465 York Ave. 40.7706°N -73.9513°W	This Babb, Cook & Willard work opened on October 24, 1906.
align=center	25		West 40th Street		457 West 40th Street	Designed by Cook & Welch, the structure was a Classical Revival limestone building that first opened in 1915. It became part of the Covenant House complex. Covenant House is now redeveloping the site into affordable housing and a new international headquarters. The building was demolished in 2020. Covenant House is pursuing the option of storage, and re-installation of the first-floor and basement facade of the Carnegie Library.^[4]
align=center	26		Yorkville		222 E. 79th St. 40.7737°N -73.9563°W	Designed by James Brown Lord, this branch opened December 13, 1902, the first Carnegie library built in New York City.

Carnegie libraries in Staten Island

	Library	Image	width=15% style="background-color:#CEE0F2;"	Location	Notes
align=center	27		Port Richmond		75 Bennett St. 40.6376°N -74.1312°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened in 1905.
align=center	28		Saint George		5 Central Ave. 40.6417°N -74.0767°W	Known today as the St. George Library Center, this Carrère & Hastings work opened on June 26, 1907, and is the largest library on Staten Island.
align=center	29		Stapleton		132 Canal St. 40.6265°N -74.078°W	Designed by Carrère & Hastings and opened in 1907.
align=center	30		Tottenville		7430 Amboy Rd. 40.5096°N -74.2441°W	A Carrère & Hastings design, this branch opened in 1904.

Carnegie libraries in the Bronx

	Library	Image	width=15% style="background-color:#CEE0F2;"	Location Carnegie libraries in Brooklyn Brooklyn received $1.6 million ($ million today) of the entire grant to construct 21 libraries for the Brooklyn Public Library. Library Image Location Notes align=center 1 Arlington 203 Arlington Ave. at Warwick St. 40°40'50.4"N 73°53'14.0"W Originally known as the East Branch and officially opened on November 7, 1906; renovated from 1950 to 1952 and in 1980. align=center 2 Bedford 496 Franklin Avenue This Library plan was recognized as an excellent example of library planning and design in the March 1903 issue of Library Journal. It was built using Carnegie funds. In 2000, an interior renovation and exterior restoration by Sen Architects was completed. align=center 3 Brownsville 61 Glenmore Avenue The first Brownsville Branch opened in 1905 on the second floor of the Alliance Building after the Hebrew Educational Society donated its books. The Carnegie-built branch, which opened at 61 Glenmore Avenue on December 19, 1908, continues to operate today.^[5] align=center 4 Bushwick 340 Bushwick Avenue Bushwick Library opened in the rented first floor of a church at Montrose Avenue and Humboldt Street in 1903 before moving to its present location on Bushwick Avenue in 1908. align=center 5 Carroll Park [now Carroll Gardens] 396 Clinton Street at Union Street Designed by William B. Tubby, this location opened at 396 Clinton Street on March 3, 1905, and was originally called the Carroll Park Branch, until the name was changed to Carroll Gardens in 1973. A predecessor library operated out of a rented space at Smith Street and Carroll Streets from 1901 until completion of this building, which still serves the community today. align=center 6 DeKalb 790 Bushwick Avenue Located on bustling Bushwick Avenue in the neighborhood of the same name, DeKalb Library originally opened its doors on February 11, 1905. One of Brooklyn's most beautiful Carnegie branches, the building was designed by the Brooklyn architect William Tubby in the Classical Revival style. Many of the original features in this three-bay brick and limestone building remain today, including its spacious, high-ceilinged reading rooms. The library was rehabilitated in 1950.^[6] align=center 7 Eastern Parkway 1044 Eastern Parkway This medium-sized library, built with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie, was designed with a classical limestone facade with large arched windows and entrance portal. align=center 8 Flatbush 22 Linden Blvd. at Flatbush Ave. Flatbush Library has served patrons in its present location on Linden Boulevard since 1905; it was the sixth library built in Brooklyn with funds from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.^[7] The building was designed by Rudolphe L. Daus, but an extensive renovation in 1934 has rendered the building almost unrecognizable.^[8] align=center 9 Fort Hamilton 9424 Fourth Ave. This library started out as an independent free library and was absorbed into Brooklyn Public Library in 1901. The building was designed by the Lord & Hewlett architecture firm and formally opened at 9424 Fourth Avenue on October 16, 1907. align=center 10 Greenpoint The original Greenpoint Library opened in 1906 and was one of Brooklyn's first Carnegie libraries, but the building's deterioration necessitated its replacement in the early 1970s. align=center 11 Leonard 81 Devoe St. at Leonard St., Williamsburg The Leonard Branch was officially opened on December 1, 1908, at its current site at Devoe and Leonard Streets. The one-story classically styled building, designed by William B. Tubby, has an elegantly designed interior of 10,000 square feet that originally featured molded skylights, wood paneling and wood-trimmed windows. align=center 12 Macon 361 Lewis Avenue, Bedford-Stuyversant The 11th Carnegie Brooklyn library, beautiful, historic Macon Library is one of the best preserved Carnegie branches in Brooklyn. Opened in 1907, the two-story, Classical Revival-style building retains its original fireplaces, oak paneling, alcoves and wooden benches, along with the warm charm that has welcomed patrons for more than 100 years.^[9] align=center 13 Pacific 25 4th Avenue at Pacific Street The Pacific Branch was the first of the Carnegie-funded libraries to open in Brooklyn, on October 8, 1904. Architect Raymond F. Almirall designed the building, at 25 Fourth Avenue, and was hired again as architect after the building suffered structural damages due to BMT subway construction in 1914. Upon its opening, New York Tribune praised the branch for its classical and dignified design. align=center 14 Prospect [now Park Slope] 431 6th Ave. at 9th St. This library began life as a small collection of books on natural history in the Litchfield Mansion in Prospect Park. In 1906, the building, designed by Raymond Almirall was finished, using Carnegie funds. align=center 15 Red Hook The original Red Hook Library, opened on April 22, 1915, was the only of Brooklyn's Carnegie libraries to be built in the Mediterranean Revival style. The architect, Richard A. Walker, accented the original interior of the building with decorative wooden staircases, pendant light fixtures and clerestory windows. This architectural gem was forced to close in August 1946 after suffering extensive damage from a fire, and was demolished soon after.^[10] align=center 16 Saratoga 8 Thomas S Boyland Street Saratoga Library is a Classical Revival-style Carnegie branch with a distinctive Spanish tile roof and a storied history. Opened in 1908, Saratoga was renovated in 1958, 1974 and 1990.^[11] align=center 17 South 51st street and 4th Avenue South Branch opened to the public on December 9, 1905, on the same site the Sunset Park branch occupies today. The original two-story, Classical Revival-style building, designed by architects Lord & Hewlett, was demolished in 1970.^[12] align=center 18 Stone Avenue 581 Mother Gaston Boulevard Originally constructed to relieve overcrowding at the nearby Brownsville branch, Stone Avenue Library was one of the last Carnegie libraries built in Brooklyn. Officially opened on September 24, 1914, it was originally called the Brownsville Children's Library and is believed to have been the first library in the world devoted exclusively to serving children. Designed by architect William B. Tubby in the Jacobethan style, many of the original architectural details that distinguished the branch as a place for children remain, including the Rookwood storybook fireplace tiles and the original carved wooden benches with rabbit-head finials.^[13] align=center 19 Walt Whitman 93 Saint Edwards Street, Ft Greene Originally called the City Park Branch, this library was renamed to honor Walt Whitman (who once lived on nearby Ryerson Street) in 1943, on the 125th anniversary of his birth. The branch once boasted a naval architecture and science collection, to serve the workers of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. align=center 20 Washington Irving 360 Irving Ave. Bushwick Washington Irving Library was the 21st and final Carnegie library built in Brooklyn. align=center 21 Williamsburg 240 Division Avenue Although the branch didn't open until 1905, it is often considered the first of Brooklyn's Carnegie libraries. Thousands, including Mayor Seth Low, came out with much fanfare for a ceremony in November 1903, when a time capsule of documents including a copy of the Carnegie contract was laid in the cornerstone of the building at 240 Division Avenue. Carnegie libraries in Queens Queens received $240,000 ($ million today) from the grant and built seven libraries for the Queens Public Library. Library Image Location Notes align=center 1 Astoria 14-01 Astoria Blvd. The first Carnegie library completed in Queens.^[14] In the 1930s the structure was heavily renovated. Additional renovations took place in the 1960s. $9 million in renovations are planned for 2022–2024.^[15] align=center 2 Elmhurst 86-01 Broadway Demolished 2012. align=center 3 Far Rockaway The third Carnegie library completed in Queens. Destroyed by fire in 1962. align=center 4 Flushing Kissena Boulevard and Main Street Demolished in 1955^[16] align=center 5 Poppenhusen 121-23 14th Ave. and 13-16 College Point Blvd. Completed in 1904, it was the second Carnegie library completed in Queens. align=center 6 Richmond Hill 118-14 Hillside Ave. align=center 7 Woodhaven 85-41 Forest Pkwy. See also List of New York Public Library Branches List of Brooklyn Public Library Branches List of Queens Public Library branches References Book: Anderson, Florence. Carnegie Corporation Library Program 1911–1961. Carnegie Corporation. New York. 1963. 1282382. Anderson. Book: Bobinski, George S.. Carnegie Libraries: Their History and Impact on American Public Library Development. American Library Association. Chicago. 1969. 0-8389-0022-4. Bobinski. Book: Jones, Theodore. Carnegie Libraries Across America. John Wiley & Sons. New York. 1997. 0-471-14422-3. Jones. Book: Miller, Durand R.. Carnegie Grants for Library Buildings, 1890-1917. Carnegie Corporation of New York. New York. 1943. 2603611. Miller. Book: Dierickx, Mary B.. The Architecture of Literacy: The Carnegie Libraries of New York City. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the New York City Dept. of General Services. New York. 1996. 1-56256-717-9. Dierickx. Note: The above references, while all authoritative, are not entirely mutually consistent. Some details of this list may have been drawn from one of the references without support from the others. External links Historic Districts Council pages on Carnegie libraries in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Libraries and Hours, NYPL. 2009-06-22.
2. Dierickx, Mary B. (1996). The Architecture of Literacy: The Carnegie Libraries of New York City, pp. 104-186. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the New York City Dept. of General Services, New York. .
3. Dierickx. The Architecture of Literacy, p. 125.
4. Web site: Manhattan Community Board 4 . 2019-10-22 . Letter of Support .
5. Web site: Carnegie Libraries Brooklyn Public Library. www.bklynlibrary.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20170404203120/https://www.bklynlibrary.org/about/carnegie. 2017-04-04. 2018-11-07.
6. Web site: DeKalb Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 7 November 2016. en-us. 2017-05-09.
7. Web site: Flatbush Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 7 November 2016. en-us. 2017-05-09.
8. News: Past and Present: The Intersection of Flatbush and Linden Brownstoner. Spellen. Suzanne. 2012-11-16. Brownstoner. 2017-05-09. en-US.
9. Web site: Macon Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 7 November 2016. en-us. 2017-05-09.
10. Web site: Red Hook Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 7 November 2016. en-us. 2017-05-09.
11. Web site: Saratoga Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 7 November 2016. en-us. 2017-05-09.
12. Web site: Sunset Park Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 28 December 2016. en-us. 2017-06-12.
13. Web site: Stone Avenue Library - History. www.bklynlibrary.org. 7 November 2016. en-us. 2017-05-09.
14. Web site: Queens Carnegie Libraries: Poppenhusen Branch | HDC . 8 July 2013 .
15. Web site: Astoria Post . 2021-01-25 . Astoria Library Branch On Track for Renovations and ADA Upgrades .
16. https://www.queenslibrary.org/about-us/locations/Flushing Queens Borough Public Library History