Major Victory: Landmarking NYC’s Carnegie Libraries

On Thursday the State Review Board voted unanimously to recommend the Carnegie Libraries of NYC to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

This means that the remaining 56 libraries constructed with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie will receive state and federal protection, making local designation by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission more likely. These buildings include such treasures as NYPL’s Hamilton Grange Branch, BPL’s Pacific Branch, and QPL’s Astoria Branch.

This designation represents the culmination of a three-year joint effort by the Committee to Save the New York Public Library (SaveNYPL.org) and the Historic Districts Council.

While all work by SaveNYPL is done by volunteers, we need the help of supporters like you to keep the website running, print pamphlets, make signs and, in this case, to pay for outside experts to conduct research in support of designation.

We thank you for your past generosity and ask if you will consider making a tax-deductible contribution:

https://savenypl.org/donate

We hope this message finds you as well as can be. In the months ahead, we expect libraries to play an essential role in repairing the fabric of our city.

(Above image: Pacific Branch, Brooklyn Public Library. Image courtesy of Uli Seit for The New York Times.)