NYPL Midtown branch reopens in Manhattan with new look following renovation

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
NYPL Midtown branch reopens after renovation
The New York Public Library Midtown Branch will reopen Tuesday following a $200 million renovation.

MIDTOWN (WABC) -- The New York Public Library's largest and busiest branch reopens Tuesday with a new look.

The Midtown branch underwent a $200 million renovation.

NYPL's largest and busiest branch has more than 1.7 million visits a year and an annual circulation of 2 million items.

The building's modern interior and inspiring design is by Dutch architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo architects with New York City-based firm Beyer Blinder Belle.

Tuesday at 1 p.m., the lower level through the fifth floor will open for the first time for limited browsing and by-appointment computer use.

The new library has the capacity for 400,000 books, five levels of open, browse-able book stacks, and two floors of classrooms and meeting spaces.

The 20,000-square-foot Pasculano Learning Center-the Library's largest adult learning center-will provide a seamless continuum of educational opportunities to support lifelong learning (including technology training, ESOL and citizenship classes, and so on).

There's also a new 26,000-square-foot floor of separate spaces entirely for kids and for teens; there were no dedicated spaces for children or young adults in the former Mid-Manhattan Library.

It also has the only free and public rooftop terrace in Manhattan.

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