Queens Borough Public Library, Woodhaven Branch
85-41 Forest Pkwy
Queens, NY 11421
Year(s) built: 1924
Year opened: 1924
Architect(s): Robert F. Schirmer
Builder(s): Fraser & Berau
Status: Library, no designation
The New York City Carnegie branch libraries were designed to be distinct structures, a new concept at the turn of the Twentieth Century when most branches were simply located in other buildings. They were intended to be important fixtures in the community and centrally located in a neighborhood. The Carnegie Committee had a policy to locate branches in close proximity to public buildings such as schools, social service centers, public baths, or YM/YWCA’s. The Woodhaven Branch has played this civic role in Woodhaven for over eighty years.[i]
Opening its doors to the public on January 5, 1924, the Woodhaven Branch was the last Carnegie Library completed in Queens, and was partially funded with the remainder of the Carnegie gift to the city. The building is located on the northeast corner of Forest Parkway and 85th Drive. The architect, Robert F. Schirmer, along with J.W. Schmidt, also completed the Queens Borough Public Library’s central building in 1927; which is now the Queens Family Courthouse. The Woodhaven library continues to operate as a branch of the Queens Borough Public Library.