The New York Public Library Completes Major Schwarzman Building Renovation, Opening New Visitor Center and Enhancing ADA Accessibility

Photo by Jeremy Huang on Unsplash

Additionally, the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures welcomes its 1 millionth visitor 

The New York Public Library proudly announces the completion of a series of major renovations at its flagship Stephen A Schwarzman Building, further ensuring it as a vibrant and welcoming destination for all. This latest phase includes the building’s first ever Visitor Center, a new, 2,250 square foot public plaza named after the Library’s former chairman Marshall Rose, a new ADA-accessible entrance, a new modern public stair and elevator and other features to enhance the visitor experience.  

In other exciting Library news, the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures welcomed its one millionth visitor on July 10, 2023. Eliana, an 8-year-old from Manhattan who had come to the exhibition with her family and visiting friends, received a New York Public Library tote bag. Inside the bag was a copy of the book, “Treasures of The New York Public Library”, a New York Public Library mug, and other Library gear.  Eliana and her friends and family also received a guided Polonsky Exhibition tour, led by Declan Kiely, Director, Special Collections and Exhibitions and Curatorial Associate, Sara Spink. One highlight of the tour for Eliana and her friend Elly was seeing Charles Dickens’ letter opener, which the famed author had made out of his deceased cat’s paw. 

The Polonsky Exhibition, located in Gottesman Hall, showcases highlights of the Library’s vast research collections, including a Gutenberg Bible and Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence. The Polonsky Exhibition opened in 2021 amid the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. Over the past 19 months, its average daily visitor count has increased 275%. Its success is a testament to the resiliency of the city. 

“Libraries truly are for everyone, which is why I am so thrilled to announce these new changes to the Stephen A. Schwarzman building, our celebrated research library,” said President of The New York Public Library Anthony W. Marx. “All of the new changes – from our first-ever Visitor Center to the new outdoor Marshall Rose Plaza, as well as our Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures – will make this landmark building more welcoming to all. These new changes will also help us develop an even broader base of regular users to our research collections. Knowledge is meant to be shared, and we invite everyone to come and see the wonders of the Library.” 

“The New York Public Library’s Treasures are now truly public,”  said Leonard Polonsky CBE. “The success of the Exhibition has exceeded all expectations, and we’re grateful to the Library for permanently making it available to an ever-growing public.”

“Free access to knowledge for all has been the central mission of the New York Public Library for over 125 years,” said Chair of The New York Public Library Board of Trustees Abby Milstein. “To reach new generations of researchers and patrons we have made exciting and welcoming improvements to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. We can all look forward to books, scholarship, and public engagement that the Library will inspire in the years to come.

Both the Polonsky Exhibition and the renovations to the Schwarzman Building are designed to make this landmark, 1911 building and the Library’s extensive collections more accessible to all who visit.

The 3,600 square foot Visitor Center features exhibits that illustrate the Library’s history and legacy, as well as its collections and how they’re used to support research. In addition to interactive digital screens, physical tactile displays of the Library’s research collections invite people to touch and engage with the exhibits. This approach also benefits blind and low-vision individuals, by enhancing their experience and fostering greater connection with the content. 

Tactile models of collection items include:

• The souvenir reproduction of Augusta Savage’s 1939 “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sculpture 
• Keith Haring’s 1989 “Silence = Death” Act Up poster 
• Cuneiform clay tablets from 2000-2100 BCE 
• A large scale tactile map of New York City; each borough of the city is represented by a different texture. Manhattan, for example, feels differently than the Bronx. 

To cater to the diverse linguistic landscape of New York City, all displays in the Visitor Center are trilingual, in English, Spanish, and Chinese. This is consistent with other new and expanded offerings in the building, including new signage and visitor materials, as well as a Treasures audio guide, a new building audio tour, and other behind-the-scenes videos—all available on the Library’s new digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, which allows visitors to access the information onsite during their visit, or from anywhere.

The featured languages were chosen because they are the languages most widely spoken in New York City. The Library’s two audio tours also include an option with verbal descriptions of each stop, in another effort to accommodate blind or low-vision individuals, while all Visitor Center content is also accessible. Future expansions of language options are anticipated.

Much of the new renovations centered around adding more public space to the Schwarzman building. The Visitor Center had been an office space and storage for map collections, which are now safeguarded in the Library’s state-of-the-art Milstein Research Stacks located under Bryant Park. 

The Library also transformed an underused exterior mechanical area into a 2,250 square foot outdoor public plaza. That plaza was formally dedicated to the Library’s former Chair Marshall Rose this spring through the generosity of Richard D. Cohen and Leonard A. Lauder. Rose joined the Library’s board in 1981, and he is currently Chair Emeritus. Rose also was instrumental in the revitalization of Bryant Park. 

The Marshall Rose Plaza is located on 40th Street and connects with the Library’s new ADA-accessible entrance and new public stair and elevator bank. The elevator serves all four of the Library’s floors, a remarkable achievement given the architectural challenges presented by the landmarked marble building. 

Other highlights of the renovation include new public restrooms and a new 4,000 square foot Library Shop & Cafe, featuring Amy’s Bread.

Additionally, the Library is creating a new temporary exhibition space, the Celeste G. and Mahnaz I. Bartos Exhibition Gallery, on the first floor. This new gallery will be in concert with the existing Wachenheim Gallery and Gottesman Hall to bring together engaging and dynamic exhibitions that feature the Library’s collection. The new gallery is expected to open in spring 2024. 

This most recent round of renovations are the latest in the Library’s efforts to improve its Midtown flagship locations and further The New York Public Library President Anthony W. Marx’s vision to make the Library accessible to all New Yorkers. 

In 2021, the Library opened the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) following a complete renovation of the building. The branch, formerly known as the Mid-Manhattan Library, was transformed into a state-of-the-art central circulating library capable of supporting New Yorkers from across the City. It now features a modern design to support traditional services such as book browsing and computer use, as well as dedicated spaces such as the Pasculano Learning Center, which offers adult education offerings, such as ESOL and literacy classes, and the Thomas Yoseloff Business Center to support patrons’ needs for personal finance, small business, career services and more. The Library also has recording studios for adults and teens, bright and lively areas for both children and teens, and one of the only public rooftops in New York City. 

The renovation of SNFL followed major upgrades completed previously at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, which included a significant restoration and repair of the ceiling in the Rose Main Reading Room and building out the second level of the Milstein Research Stacks underneath Bryant Park to conserve and house four million books on-site.

The joint design team for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library and Stephen A. Schwarzman Building renovations included Dutch architect, Francine Houben of Mecanoo, and Elizabeth Leber from New York City-based Beyer Blinder Belle. Mecanoo’s unparalleled knowledge of libraries guided the development of the Midtown Campus concept, and led to the creation of the connection through the new Marshall Rose Plaza entrance. Beyer Blinder Belle’s storied work on landmark buildings ensured keeping the historical integrity of the Schwarzman Building. 

The vast majority of the renovations were paid for using private funding.

“Free and open access to knowledge is at the core of our mission, and a big part of how we can accomplish this is by having spaces that are inviting and welcoming to all,” said New York Public Library Chief Operating Officer Iris Weinshall. “These renovations do just that, which is not an easy thing in a 112-year old landmark building made out of marble. Not only did we add more public space to the Stephen A. Schwarzman building, we did it in a way that complements the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library diagonally across Fifth Avenue. Between these two buildings, our patrons and visitors can find anything they need.” 

Elizabeth Leber, Managing Partner at Beyer Blinder Belle, speaking on behalf of the design team, “We aimed to maintain integrity and create clarity in the iconic Stephen A Schwarzman Building. The changes, both subtle and transformative, will help visitors understand and appreciate this special building and its many features and functions.” 

About The New York Public Library

For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.