Welcome to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

Alison Stewart: The New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is not only one of the most iconic buildings in New York City; it is where knowledge is preserved and made accessible to all—a world-renowned research center where people come to explore, learn, and create new knowledge.

In 1911, after 16 years of design and construction, President William Howard Taft presided over the dedication of this building, which he called “a work of National importance.” He hailed it as the culmination of a plan that provides all New Yorkers access to “information on every subject of every kind”—as well as a “model and example for other cities” to do the same. 50,000 patrons swarmed through the grand entryway that day, and millions more have followed since.

Eric Klinenberg: When you walk up those first steps, when you see the lions on the side guarding the area, making it feel special, you enter the building and see the vastness of the space, the kind of opulence of the space, and know that that’s not a private residence of a king.

Alison Stewart: Dubbed “the People’s Palace,” this resplendent building was created to meet the Library’s mission of being a place for all New Yorkers.

Keith Glutting: Here you have this center of learning, this center of sharing of knowledge right smack in the middle of Midtown in New York. So it’s a symbol for New York being the center of information.

Alison Stewart: Bear in mind as you wander through the space that this is a research library.

Julie Golia: Like our branches, research libraries are open to all and are host to a diverse range of patrons and visitors every single day, but at research libraries like the Schwarzman Building, our collections don’t circulate but instead are used onsite only in various reading rooms.

Alison Stewart: There are more than 47 million cataloged items in the research collections—including books that are housed in the Milstein Research Stacks—a state-of-the-art storage facility underneath Bryant Park.

And these collections are made accessible via not one, but several research libraries, including this building here in Midtown, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, located at Lincoln Center, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, located uptown in Harlem.

Now, it’s your turn to discover what treasures of literature, art, architecture, and knowledge The New York Public Library holds. Check out the audio guide map, plus look for audio symbols throughout the building for commentary from me and key members of the Library community, like those we just heard from. We will point out details, recount history, and share thoughts and insights on the inner workings of the Library. Enjoy!