📚In 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. 📚

Williamsburg Branch, ca. 1905. The Williamsburg Library, completed between 1903 and 1905, was the first Carnegie Library begun in Brooklyn. The cornerstone was laid in November of 1903, at a well-attended event. A time capsule of documents including a copy of the Carnegie contract was laid in the cornerstone. The large Y-shaped building sits on a raised, grassy triangular plot. Its floorplan meant to evoke an open book, with two wings radiating from a center bay. The building, designed by Richard A. Walker, was designated an individual landmark in 2006 and still functions as branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.