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1910. "New York Public Library. A reading room." The NYPL on Fifth Avenue would open the following year. 8x10 glass negative, G.G. Bain. View full size.
There are no books because the library was still under construction when this picture was taken in 1910. The new library opened on May 31, 1911. Still there, on Fifth Avenue, behind the Lions.
Great picture. Am I the only one who thinks this looks more like a prison? Alcatraz library comes to mind.
Why do they put the books in jail? Is it to prevent theft? Could you just go pull a book off the shelf or would you need the librarian to get it for you?
Grilles on the bookshelves. No visible electric lighting. A kind of desolate, dark atmosphere. Especially when compared of the library of Viipuri designed by Alvar Aalto. Too bad it was lost to Russia in WW2. Just Google "Viipurin kirjasto."
I'm dying to slide down that banister, and then pull on my skates and have a turn around that big, empty floor.
Perhaps the most powerful image I've seen for a long time.
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