Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch
Also Bklyn Public Library (BPL)
NY
LibraryOriginal Architect
Raymond Almirall
Design Architect
Alfred Morton Githens
Francis Keally
Renovation Architect
Toshiko Mori Architect
Designations
National Register of Historic Places in Jan 11, 2002
Description Show more
The Central Library is the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, located at Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York City. It contains over a million cataloged books, magazines, and multimedia materials. Each year, over one million people visit the library.
The 352,000 square foot building contains the S. Stevan Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, a 189-seat auditorium that opened in 2007 and hosts lectures, readings, musical performances, and other events for people of all ages. The library's plaza, renovated during the construction of the Dweck Center, hosts concerts throughout the summer and has become a favorite outdoor destination for free wireless internet access.
The Central Library's local history division, The Brooklyn Collection, holds over a million individual items including photographs, maps, manuscripts, Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia and other ephemeral items.
Groundbreaking for a Brooklyn central library on Prospect Park Plaza (now Grand Army Plaza) occurred in 1912. The original architect Raymond Almirall had designed a domed, four-story Beaux-Arts building, similar in style to the adjacent Brooklyn Museum. Because of World War I and the Great Depression, Almirall's building was never completed except for the Flatbush Avenue wing, which was finished in 1929.
In the 1930s, architects Githens and Keally were commissioned to redesign the building in the Art Deco style, eliminating the expensive ornamentation and the fourth floor. Almirall's building on Flatbush Avenue was largely demolished except for the frame, but some of the original facade along the library's parking lot is still visible.
2021 Marking the 80th anniversary of its completion and the upcoming phased reopening of libraries across New York City, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL)’s landmark Central Branch on Grand Army Plaza unveiled a whole new look following an expansive, two-year interior refresh headed by Toshiko Mori. The $38 million renovations yielded a range of new and improved community resources available to BPL patrons, made possible by opening up a considerable amount of administrative space within, that was previously inaccessible to the public.
The Central Library is the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, located at Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York City. It contains over a million cataloged books, magazines, and multimedia materials. Each year, over one million people visit the library.
The 352,000 square foot building contains the S. Stevan Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, a 189-seat auditorium that opened in 2007 and hosts lectures, readings, musical performances, and other events for people of all ages. The library's plaza, renovated during the construction of the Dweck Center, hosts concerts throughout the summer and has become a favorite outdoor destination for free wireless internet access.
The Central Library's local history division, The Brooklyn Collection, holds over a million individual items including photographs, maps, manuscripts, Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia and other ephemeral items.
Groundbreaking for a Brooklyn central library on Prospect Park Plaza (now Grand Army Plaza) occurred in 1912. The original architect Raymond Almirall had designed a domed, four-story Beaux-Arts building, similar in style to the adjacent Brooklyn Museum. Because of World War I and the Great Depression, Almirall's building was never completed except for the Flatbush Avenue wing, which was finished in 1929.
In the 1930s, architects Githens and Keally were commissioned to redesign the building in the Art Deco style, eliminating the expensive ornamentation and the fourth floor. Almirall's building on Flatbush Avenue was largely demolished except for the frame, but some of the original facade along the library's parking lot is still visible.
2021 Marking the 80th anniversary of its completion and the upcoming phased reopening of libraries across New York City, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL)’s landmark Central Branch on Grand Army Plaza unveiled a whole new look following an expansive, two-year interior refresh headed by Toshiko Mori. The $38 million renovations yielded a range of new and improved community resources available to BPL patrons, made possible by opening up a considerable amount of administrative space within, that was previously inaccessible to the public.
Map View
Nearby
| Brooklyn Public Library Columns | 10 feet |
| Allegory of Manhattan & Brooklyn | 0.4 miles |
| Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center and Overlook | 0.6 miles |
| Battle of Long Island | 0.7 miles |
| Prospect Park | 0.8 miles |
| Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gateway Building | 1.1 miles |
| Pacific Park - 461 Dean Street | 1.2 miles |
| Barclays Center | 1.4 miles |
| Brooklyn Public Library, Bedford Branch | 1.4 miles |
Timeline
