125th Street Branch, NYPL, July 18, 1928. Constructed as the Harlem Branch in 1904, the library on East 15th Street is a McKim, Mead & White building. It was given its current designation when a new library was named the Harlem Branch upon completion in 1909. (That branch is on West 124th Street.) The three-story facade is of an Italian Renaissance palazzo style. The semi- circular decorative sections over the second floor windows (called tympanum) depict iconography of classical architecture such as laurels and anchors. The one over the center window depicts a shield with part of the seal of the City of New York: a four-blade windmill (representing the Dutch settlers), two beavers, and two flour barrels (symbolizing the two most important exports of New Amsterdam: furs and flour).

In the closing decades of the 19th century, New York underwent a profound physical and cultural transformation. Fueled by the wealth of the exploding financial and manufacturing sectors, the city rapidly evolved into a world-class metropolis. The bold ambitions of civic and business leaders, architects, and engineers of the era manifested in landmarks such as the vast Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the stately U.S. Custom House, the towering Municipal Building, and the original terminus of New York City’s first official subway line—the ornate City Hall stop. The sweeping interior spaces common to all of these structures, and hundreds of others, depended upon a venerable Mediterranean building technology adapted to contemporary American construction: arched tile ceilings—or vaults—that were not only self-supporting but could also bear the weight of floors or roofs above them. These vaults were designed and built by a single New York firm, founded by Spanish immigrant Rafael Guastavino (1842-1908) and later headed by his son Rafael Jr. (1872-1950). The Guastavinos’ patented system for building domes and vaults involved multiple layers of thin ceramic tiles bonded with quick-drying mortar. The resulting structures were not only exceptionally strong, but also lightweight, easy to build, and inherently beautiful, thanks to intricate patterns of exposed tile that formed finished, decorative surfaces. Guastavino vaults figured prominently in more than 1,000 projects across the nation, including 200 in Manhattan alone. During its 73-year history, the Guastavino Company helped build some of the most impressive interior spaces in America—veritable palaces for the people. This list based on MCNY's exhibition Palaces for the People, contains many of Guastavino's masterpieces in the five boroughs, both those that remain and those that have been lost to the wrecking ball.

New York Public Library, 125th Street Branch ARCHITECT: McKim, Mead & White DATE: 1904 STYLE: Renaissance Revival McKim, Mead & White’s philosophy was that the libraries were designed to serve two purposes: to be specific to their neighborhood yet universal in character, and to be expressive of a municipal building type. The striking Renaissance Revival-style building is of the palazzo type. The building is clad in rusticated Indiana limestone and is three stories high and three bays wide. Large arched windows dominate the first floor with an entrance offset to the right with an arched glass transom above. The tall second-floor window openings are topped by arched decorative transom panels. The third floor has three small square windows that pierce the façade, creating a clerestory.

📚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. 📚