Yorkville Branch of New York Public Library 229 East 79th Street New York NY
THEN
Andrew Carnegie, the Scotland-born steel magnate who lived on East 91st Street, financed the construction of 67 public libraries in New York City between 1901 and 1929. The first to open was the Yorkville branch in December 1902. It was designed by James Brown Lord, architect of the Appellate Court on Madison Square and the Bloomingdale branch of the New York Free Circulating Library on West 100th Street, which had just merged with the New York Public Library in 1901. The handsome three-story limestone Renaissance Revival style facade has rusticated stone work, round-arch windows, double height Ionic columns, and a stone balustrade. Though Lord died before construction was completed, his design had a great impact on subsequent Upper East Side libraries. Both the East 96th Street and Webster (York Avenue) branches incorporate similar architectural elements.
