The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building stands on the former site of the Croton Reservoir. Its grand Beaux-Arts rooms house research collections, expressing a public promise that knowledge should be available to everyone.
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Before this library occupied the block, a reservoir supplied much of Manhattan’s water. The Croton Distributing Reservoir stood here through the nineteenth century and was demolished in 1900; traces of its foundation remain near the building.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The building stands on the former site of the Croton Distributing Reservoir.
- The main building was dedicated in 1911.
- The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is a research library, not a circulating branch.
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