Schomburg Center Event Spaces
About the Schomburg Center
The Schomburg Center complex, a 75,000 square foot, three-building facility, is located at Harlem's historic crossroads—135th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard (formerly Lenox Avenue). For 95 years, the Schomburg Center has collected, preserved, and provided free access to materials documenting the global black experience. In addition to state-of-the-art study and storage facilities for the five research collection divisions, the Schomburg Center offers four magnificent spaces—including a 321-seat professional theatre—for intimate gatherings, as well as lavish extravaganzas.
Find rates and other information regarding Schomburg Center space rentals.
Plus, view past events, exhibitions, red carpets, and more!
Contact us! Please email schomburgcenterevents@nypl.org, call 212.491.2257, or fax 212.491.6760.
The following rooms and spaces are available for events of various sizes:
Langston Hughes Auditorium
The Langston Hughes Auditorium is a 321-seat professional theatre with state of the art audio visual capabilities that can take your event to the next level.
Langston Hughes Lobby
At approximately 1,150 square feet, the Langston Hughes Lobby is an elegant, glass-enclosed atrium overlooking the Schomburg Center’s outdoor courtyard. The space holds 250 people standing.
Featuring high ceilings and an abundance of natural light, the lobby is also home to Rivers, a site-specific public art installation and peace memorial in honor of Langston Hughes and Arturo A. Schomburg. The terrazzo floor is marked by a brass cosmogram bearing song lines, texts, and literary signs paying ancestral tribute in the tradition of African ritual ground markings, weaving a web of connections between people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, the past and the present.
American Negro Theatre
The American Negro Theatre—with a 75-person capacity—is a multipurpose space that can be utilized for a variety of events, such as meetings, forums, and receptions. For meetings and forums, the stage reaches 195.5 square feet. For larger events, the space can reach 125, 703.5 square feet.
Schomburg Courtyard
The Schomburg Center's outdoor courtyard, bordered by the spectacular atrium windows of the Langston Hughes Lobby and the interior walls of the landmark building, is an ideal locale for open-air gatherings. Holding 120 guests, this invigorating outdoor space also features a Shona sculpture by Zimbabwean artist Tapfuma Gutsa, on exhibit from the collection of Julie Belafonte, and the Bench By The Road, a gift from the Toni Morrison Society.