New York Public Library

Homestalgia Archive

Community memory · 1911–today · Aug 7, 2026

Verified

Carrère and Hastings built the main branch on the site of the Croton Distributing Reservoir, opening in 1911 with President Taft present; it was the largest marble structure in the United States. The Rose Main Reading Room runs 78 feet by 297 with 52-foot ceilings. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia named the lions Patience and Fortitude during the Depression, saying those were the qualities New Yorkers needed. The historic seven-tier stacks sit beneath the main reading room inside the library. Ghostbusters opens in the stacks; The Day After Tomorrow burns the books.

Source: New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building history and visitor information; New York Public Library, Rose Main Reading Room information; New York Public Library, The Library Lions; Ghostbusters (Columbia Pictures, 1984); The Day After Tomorrow (20th Century Fox, 2004)