Monday, November 24, 2014

Carnegie Library, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York


[LIB11200] - The original Greenpoint Branch, opened in 1906, was one of the first Carnegie Libraries to be constructed in the rapidly expanding Brooklyn Public Library system. Designed by architect R. L. Daus, the building occupied a corner lot at 107 Norman Avenue. The Greenpoint Star praised the library for its elegant simplicity, its golden oak woodwork and fine brasswork, and the Brooklyn Eagle noted reading rooms that were tastefully decorated with potted palms.

By the 1930s excessive dampness and subsidence were causing the building to deteriorate. In 1970 the Department of General Services decided it would be too costly to renovate the building and tore it down.

A new building on the site of the original Carnegie building opened on December 20, 1973. [Website]

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