Sculptural grouping set into a recessed half-domed niche. Fountain below. Sculptor: Frederick MacMonnies. New York Public Library; Built: 1911; Architects: Carrere & Hastings. NYPL was formed in 1895 by the merger of the Astor Library, the Lenox Library, and the Tilden Trust. In 1901 the New York Free Circulating Library merged with the Astor-Lenox-Tilden Library, making the newly formed institution eligible for funds donated to the city by Andrew Carnegie. The library building was completed in 1911. Carrere & Hastings' design was a high point of Beaux Arts architecture in the U.S. The decorative program included urns, flagpoles, sculpture, and fountains. The entrance is flanked by twin lions carved by E.C. Potter.
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Local Subjects
New York Public Library
Fifth Avenue (New York, N.Y.)
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Sculpture and architecture
MacMonnies, Frederick William, 1863-1937
Public libraries
Beaux Arts
Statues
Niches
Fountains
Marble
Murray Hill Neighborhood (New York, N.Y.)
Note
New York Public Library; Humanities and Social Sciences Library.
1898-1911
Digitized by Mina Rees Library; City University of New York. Graduate School and University Center.