Fifth Avenue Plaza

Narrator: The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is a magnificent three-story, white marble building embellished with columns, arches, statues, and fountains. Filling a city block, the wide, horizontal building stands out against neighboring skyscrapers.

The library plaza and facade exemplify the symmetry and ornamentation of Beaux-Arts architecture and its Roman and Greek influences.

As you approach the main entrance on Fifth Avenue, you’ll encounter steps leading past the iconic lion sculptures—Patience and Fortitude—onto a wide stone terrace where trees provide shade for clusters of tables and chairs. Bronze lampposts add to the historic atmosphere.

Fluted columns and three tall arches create a portico that shades the library entrance. The three arches correspond to ornate brass doors topped with pediments. Ten-foot-tall vases reminiscent of ancient Rome flank the steps leading from the plaza to the entrance.

Helmeted busts of Roman gods top each arch, and lanterns made of bronze and glass hang in each bay.

Above the entryway, standing at the top of the building, are six sculpted figures in classical robes representing History, Romance, Religion, Poetry, Drama, and Philosophy. Inscriptions between the sculptures bear the names of library benefactors John Jacob Astor, James Lenox, and Samuel Jones Tilden.

Fountains reside on either side of the entrance, tucked into niches. In each fountain stands a large figure. Below the standing figure, water sprays from the mouth of a satyr mask (a bearded face with pointed ears) and tumbles into a series of wide, shallow basins. Above each niche is the sculpted face of a lion.

The south fountain—to your left as you face the library—features a statue of Beauty represented as a woman seated on the winged horse Pegasus. An inscription reads: “Beauty / Old Yet Ever New / Eternal Voice / And Inward Word.”

The north fountain features a statue of Truth represented as a bearded man seated on a Sphinx—a mythical creature part woman, part lion, and part bird. An inscription reads: “But Above All Things / Truth / Beareth Away / The Victory.”

Arched windows line the building on either side of the steps. Each is topped by a sculpted lion head and oak leaf sprays.

Interpretive commentary on the library’s plaza and facade follows.

Alison Stewart: The library’s facade is one of Fifth Avenue’s wonders. It provides a grand and romantic background for events both ordinary and extraordinary. These steps play host to many from New York City and beyond—locals meeting up with friends, workers taking a quick coffee or lunch break, tourists snapping photos, protesters speaking out for their causes, and countless others. The facade has witnessed it all: victory parades, rallies for equality, and somber moments of uncertainty. In the unfolding drama of New York City, the Schwarzman Building has provided a gathering place for all.

The library’s entrance is bookended by two fountains adorned with allegorical figures: Beauty to the south and Truth to the north. They represent the higher goals of learning that visitors are encouraged to pursue within.

As you approach the entrance you can’t help but appreciate the classical architectural style often invoked in Beaux-Arts design. It’s distinguished by ornament—think back to the style of the early Greeks and Romans. The facade is home to quite a cast of characters. Every time you look, you will see something—or someone—new. For example, up above the entrance are six figures.

Keith Glutting: These represent various aspects of literature that you’ll experience when you’re entering the building.

Alison Stewart: The New York Public Library’s Keith Glutting.

Keith Glutting: The sculptures are by Paul Wayland Bartlett, and they depict, from left to right: History, Romance, Religion, Poetry, Drama, and Philosophy.

Alison Stewart: Architect Liz Leber.

Liz Leber: The building was certainly designed to be a welcoming but monumental entrance. There is this sense of procession up the great stairs, into the great formal bronze doors with the names of the donors who established this free library above in that pediment, etched into the stone.

Alison Stewart: Those names, John Jacob Astor, James Lenox, and Samuel Tilden, were three financially successful New Yorkers whose private collections, dedication to literary interests, and funds were the seeds that grew into today’s New York Public Library. Quite a legacy.