New York Public Library Webster Branch
1465 York Avenue
New York, NY 10075
Year(s) built: 1905-6
Year opened: 1906
Architect(s): Babb, Cook & Willard
Builder(s): J.C. Vreeland & Company
Status: Library, no designation
The Webster library is located on the west side of York Avenue between East 77th and 78th Streets (closer to 78th), and is set up against the sidewalk. The structure is one of twenty Carnegie branches built in Manhattan and one of sixty-seven throughout the whole city.
Built in 1905-6 by Babb, Cook & Willard, the Webster Branch was one of seven Carnegie libraries the architectural firm would build.
The Webster Branch continues to operate as a branch of the New York Public Library. Security grilles were installed in the lowest windows and the front door and windows are replacements. The modern fenestration pattern alludes to the original. The interior lighting fixtures were replaced at some point in the mid-20th Century. To create a lighting scheme more sympathetic to the building, pendant lights replaced the newer fixtures in 1995.
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