New York Public Library Seward Park Branch
192 East Broadway
New York, NY 10002
Year(s) built: 1909
Year opened: 1909
Architect(s): Babb, Cook & Welch
Builder(s): Richard Deeves & Company
Status: Library, Designated June 25, 2013
Originally part of Aguilar Free Library Society since 1886, the Seward Park Branch of the New York Public Library opened on November 11, 1909.[i] The building is located on the eastern side of Seward Park, on the north side of East Broadway across from the juncture of East Broadway and Jefferson Street. Designed by the architectural firm of Babb, Cook & Welch[ii], the structure is one of twenty Carnegie branches built in Manhattan and one of sixty-seven throughout the whole city.
The library is a New York City Landmark and continues to operate as part of the New York Public Library. The building was significantly renovated in 1953, and the original pendant lighting fixtures were replaced with fluorescent lights. The door and windows are non-historic, although the new windows retain the original sash pattern. Since the building’s completion, the west facade’s first-floor central bay was converted into an additional entranceway, with non-historic concrete steps flanked by brick piers topped with lighting fixtures with globe lights. A non-historic metal ramp for handicap accessibility leads up to the left side of the steps.
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