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Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza

10 Grand Army Plaza Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY 11238

Gavriel H. Brown © Summer 2012.

In 1892, two decades before New York’s Public library was finished, Brooklyn planned its own ambitious library. It would be built in the grandeur of the Beaux-Arts style: a lavish set of stairs leading up to an imposing entrance flanked by colonnades topped by a large dome. Yet the project stumbled for almost half a century. Only the fountains and some supporting structures of the aspiring project had been built by 1908 It was an embarrassing reminder of a grand vision slowed by a World War and a Great Depression (Holland, 2012). Milton Ferguson, who in the 1930’s was named the head of the Brooklyn library system, decided to change things.

Ferguson rejected architect Raymond Almirall’s lavish design in favor of a subdued Art-Deco design by the firm Githens & Keally. The new building would eliminate the expensive ornamentation and materials of the original design, and thus public approval of the project was high. Construction of the project began again in 1938 and finished in 1941. Its smooth Indiana limestone exterior, simple pilastrade,

ornamented doors and columns by artist Thomas Hudson Jones lent the building an impressive and memorable finish (Grey, 2004). Critic Lewis Mumford, writing about the library in a 1940 New Yorker column, declared of the final composition, “Brooklyn’s new one is tops” (Mumford, 1940). The library, as the inward curving limestone suggests, was designed to look like an open book, with the spine facing Grand Army Plaza and the book’s pages open to Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway (alternatively, the designers might have wished to reflect the curve of Grand Army Plaza). From the outside, the high entry portico flanked by two enormous columns set within concave limestone curve lends the building a sense of permanence. The building itself is built on a large scale, with 50-foot doors set within a tall and imposing façade. The sectional elevation reveals that the façade itself extend much higher than the roof, suggesting that the architects wanted a building that could stand face-to-face with the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch in Grand Army Plaza.

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After climbing curved stairs, a closer look at the columns and the 17 gilded figures above the three sets of doors reveals gilded relief carvings of symbolic American literary figures such Brer Rabbit, Babe the Blue Ox and Moby Dick. The doors set a tone of intellectualism to the imposing structure—lest we forget that it is a library, not a bank.

After entering through the impressive set of doors, the lobby opens up to an expansive three-story high lobby where light pours in from a giant screen of glass blocks above the second story balcony. The lobby is a mixture of

hardwood veneers and white plaster surfaces. Pilasters covered in wood veneer extend from floor behind the circulation desk to the ceiling. Large circular recessed light fixtures brighten the space under the balcony where a café and an exhibit space sit. Access to the library wings and upper floors can be found on the sides of the lobby. Lewis Mumford commented that the lobby was “unexpectedly exhilarating,” and that it succeeded as the “most vital point of the whole design” (Mumford, 1941).

As the floor plan illustrates, the design of the library is radial, emanating from the central lobby outward. The symmetrical wings feature strong linear emphasis. Windows extend from close to the floor to the ceiling. The ceiling features beams extending from the top of the windows across the room to the top of the opposite windows. The window systems are cast iron Art Deco featuring inscribed quotes. Natural light pours into the reading rooms from large windows. The layout of the wings on the first and second floors is somewhat similar, with a mix of short and tall shelves, workspaces, computer stations and display cases.

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Behind the central balcony of the lobby are three rooms dedicated to “popular books,” Brooklyn literary culture and a literacy center. These rooms were not part of the original building, but were clever conjunctive additions. The basement houses larger meeting rooms, a 189 seat theater, stacks for over one million volumes and HVAC maintenance areas while the third floor houses the library’s small rare books collection and administrative rooms. Five elevators and two newer elevators connect the floors.

According to Pencil Points design magazine, the Brooklyn Central Library, as it was then know, was designed based on the “open plan theory.” Closed stacks and other maintenance spaces would be placed in less accessible areas on the third and basement floors. Reading spaces, access to popular books and research materials and help stations would take precedence over less popular but essential library features in the largest public spaces. Convenience and efficiency clearly governed the design (Reid, 1941).

This emphasis on the linear might be explained in an unexpected way. In addition to new expectations in efficiency in modern library design,

Githens & Keally had to somehow incorporate the old façade of the abandoned library. The architects’ “ingenious use of the old piers

for the foundations of a building little resembling the old design” was indeed clever (Reid, 1941). Long vertical windows filled the gap in-between the piers, now covered in a new stone façade. A steel frame structure is now hidden behind Indiana limestone (Reid, 1941). The building appears to be borrowing some features of the

“streamlined moderne” movement within the Art Deco style. This style, stripped of ornamentation, combines cylindrical forms with horizontal features. Within the lobby, porthole light fixtures and glass

block windows suggest this style. However, the vertical strips of windows on the exterior wings interrupt horizontal emphasis.

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Antecedents can be found in other Great Depression federal buildings. The Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse in Binghamton, New York, is a fantastic example of balancing budgets and design. Completed in 1935 by the architecture firm of Conrad and Cummings, this building attempted to “exude a version of Classical architecture conveying dignity and authority but simplified in detail and materials” (Government Services Administration, 2012). Thus, like the library, it features economical yet durable Indiana limestone, but has a U, not V-shaped, footprint. Like the library, the Federal Building features a pilastrade and cast iron window systems. The Federal Building features limited ornamentation of an Art Deco American eagle similar to the library’s eagle on top of the interior size of the main doors. Architects working during the Great Depression were able to create imposing

federal structures by cutting down on ornamentation and in doing so built clean, modern-style structures.

According to the library’s website, millions of tourists and residents flock to the Brooklyn Public Library’s 1.5 million volumes, lecturers and free classes every year (Central Library, 2012). Despite these numbers, the library’s large halls remain quiet and inviting. Architects Githens and Keally, working with a limited budget, existing structures and modern demands, created an enduring and memorable structure. Well-proportioned ornamentation, clean limestone and an open radial design set this library apart; indeed, “Brooklyn’s new one is tops.”

Image Credits (by appearance)

1. Reid, Kenneth. "A Modern Central Library." Pencil Points 22 (July 1941): 438-452. 2. Gottscho-Schleisner, "Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza,

Brooklyn." Gottscho-Schleisner Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Washington D.C. March, 1942. Accessible by: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/gsc.5a06265/

3. Reid, Kenneth. "A Modern Central Library." Pencil Points 22 (July 1941): 438-452. 4. Anonymous. “Central Library-Local History” Central Library. Brooklyn Public Library. Web. 17

Apr. 2012. http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/locations/central/photos/

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5. Gottscho-Schleisner, "Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza, Brooklyn." Gottscho-Schleisner Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Washington D.C. March, 1942. Accessible by: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/gsc.5a06265/

6. "Art Deco Architecture." Art Deco Architecture. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. http://decoarchitecture.tumblr.com/page/10

7. Anonymous. "Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse, Binghamton, NY." Government Services Administration. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. http://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/html/site/hb/category/25431/actionParameter/exploreByBuilding/buildingId/278

Bibliography “Central Library-Local History” Central Library. Brooklyn Public Library. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/locations/central/photos A brief description of the library’s history, including a timeline of construction and period photographs. A good place to begin research

"Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse, Binghamton, NY." Government Services Administration. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/html/site/hb/category/25431/actionParameter/exploreByBuilding/buildingId/278 This website describes the Binghamton Courthouse’s history, architecture and current use. Website includes photographs of the exterior and interior.

Gottscho-Schleisner, "Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza, Brooklyn." Gottscho-Schleisner Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Washington D.C. March, 1942. Accessible by: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/gsc.5a06265

These photographs taken during and after the construction of the library show the lobby, wings and basement with their original interior layout. While much has changed, the overall white and wood veneer look has remained.

Gray, Christoper. "STREETSCAPES/Brooklyn Public Library; A Living Monument To the Power of the Word." New York Times [New York] 25 July 2004.

This 2004 New York Times article explains the history of the library and urges readers to visit. Useful historical information about the renovation is presented here, but was clearly inspired by the Pencil Points article.

Holland, Joy,"The Brooklyn That Never Was Part 2." Brooklynology. Brooklyn Public Library. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

http://brooklynology.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/post/2009/04/02/The-Brooklyn-That-Never-Was-Part-2.aspx

This article goes into detail about Almirall’s 1892 design of the library. It features an illustration of the original design and a discussion of why construction failed.

Lewis Mumford. “The Sky Line.” The New Yorker, October 19, 1940, p. 57 Mumford’s critique of the Museum, written in 1940, is an interesting read because it reveals how the museum was received in 1941.

Reid, Kenneth. "A Modern Central Library." Pencil Points 22 (July 1941): 438-452. This short magazine article is packed with valuable information about the library. It includes sectional elevations and floor plans of the original design. It details the materials and structural system used in the library and the design constraints placed on Githens and Keally in designing the library.