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Rivington Branch, NYPL
61 Rivington Street

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Rivington Branch, NYPL image

Rivington Branch, NYPL
Post

Rivington Branch, date unknown. Designed by McKim, Mead & White and completed in 1905, the Rivington Branch still stands but is no longer occupied by the library. One of three Carnegie libraries completed by this firm in dense immigrant lower Manhattan neighborhoods, it was the first to have an open air space on the roof. The success of this feature led to the implementation in later branches. The original collection of 6500 books for the library was transferred from the adjacent University Settlement. Today the red brick and limestone building is occupied by a predominately Spanish language Evangelical religious organization.
Carnegie Libraries of the Five Boroughs image

Carnegie Libraries of the Five Boroughs
Story

πŸ“šIn 1901 after selling his corporation for $500 million, steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie announced a $5.2 million donation to the City of New York for the construction of public library buildings. With this gift, 67 branch libraries were constructed in the five boroughs between 1903 and 1929. πŸ“š

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Rivington Branch, NYPL image

Rivington Branch, NYPL

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