New York City is giving its iconic Carnegie Libraries a makeover

The refreshed neighborhood landmarks balance historic preservation, modernization, and sustainability.

Melrose Library [Photo: Albert Vecerka]

At the turn of the 20th century, the steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated $5.2 million to New York to build libraries across the city. Leading architects of the time designed the branches, 67 in all, to look and function like civic temples with elaborate Beaux-Arts detailing, welcoming entrances, dignified reading rooms, and open stacks where patrons could freely browse. They quickly became important, and beloved, neighborhood establishments and remain so today. After more than a century of use, and ad hoc upgrades and adaptations that are also dated, the buildings are due for upgrades. 

Last year, the New York Public Library (NYPL) completed a $176 million renovation of five Carnegie Libraries in The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. They’re pilots of Carnegie renovations to come. Spearheaded by the architecture firms Mitchell Giurgola, which also developed design standards for the renovations, and CannonDesign, the climate-sensitive and community-informed transformations are models for balancing historic architecture and contemporary use. “The buildings are such a part of the fabric of the community and we wanted to double down on that,” says Kerry Gould, director of capital planning at NYPL. “They needed love, and they got it.”

A new approach for old libraries

Public libraries are the rare institutions with near-universal approval. According to a Pew study, 94% of Americans age 16 or older believe libraries improve quality of life. Perhaps because of this, the city has entered another golden age of architectural invention around them. Affordable housing crowns branches in Sunset Park, Inwood, and Grand Concourse; a recently completed branch in Greenpoint, which replaced a too-small library dating from the 1970s, doubles as an environmental education center; and a glimmering composition by the local artist José Parlá envelops the new Far Rockaway branch. 

But ground-up contemporary buildings are only part of the story. The Carnegie renovations underscore how a preservation-focused approach can modernize the system while protecting important neighborhood landmarks and community anchors. As aging Carnegie Libraries become Apple stores, comedy clubs, and boutique hotels, or simply deteriorate until demolition is a foregone conclusion, New York is figuring out how to keep them—and keep them relevant.

“In architecture, ‘historic character’ used to be just about culture and preservation, and I think that’s really important,” says Carol Loewenson, an architect and partner at Mitchell Giurgola. “But saving what you have is also the most sustainable thing you can do. The continuity of old, new, and future is really what makes New York, and any place, thrilling.”

Carnegie libraries then and now

New York City has 216 library branches, which are managed by three systems: NYPL is responsible for 88 locations in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. (The Brooklyn Public Library oversees the borough’s 62 locations and the Queens Public Library has 66 outposts within its jurisdiction.) Of the 39 Carnegie Libraries originally within NYPL’s remit, 30 are still in operation. 

They face similar issues related to operations and relevance. To wit: They were constructed before the Americans with Disabilities Act; before teens, who are avid patrons, were considered a distinct age and cultural group (until the 1940s, you were either a child or an adult); and before climate change became an urgent issue. 

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