NY -- NYC -- New York Public Library (Schwarzman Bldg) -- Miscellaneous:
Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.
Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.
Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.
Accessing as Spider: The system has identified your IP as being a spider. IP Address: 3.17.6.75 -- Domain: Amazon Technologies
I love well-behaved spiders! They are, in fact, how most people find my site. Unfortunately, my network has a limited bandwidth and pictures take up bandwidth. Spiders ask for lots and lots of pages and chew up lots and lots of bandwidth which slows things down considerably for regular folk. To counter this, you'll see all the text on the page but the images are being suppressed. Also, some system options like merges are being blocked for you.
Note: Permission is NOT granted for spiders, robots, etc to use the site for AI-generation purposes. I'm sure you're thrilled by your ability to make revenue from my work but there's nothing in that for my human users or for me.
If you are in fact human, please email me at guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can check if your designation was made in error. Given your number of hits, that's unlikely but what the hell.
Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]
Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
NYPL_190826_21.JPG: The Astor Library
founded by John Jacob Astor for the advancement of useful knowledge
MDCCCXLVIII [1848]
NYPL_190826_23.JPG: The Lenox Library
founded by James Lenox
Dedicated to history, literature and the fine arts
MDCCCLXX [1870]
NYPL_190826_26.JPG: The Tilden Trust
founded by Samuel Jones Tilden
to serve the interests of science and popular education
MDCCCCLXXXVI [1986]
NYPL_191005_11.JPG: The lions were placed on their pedestals on May 11, 1911, just days before the building was dedicated on May 23. The following day, the Library opened to the public, and the new building -- and new lions -- welcomed 50,000 visitors.
NYPL_191005_14.JPG: The lions were originally modeled in clay by sculptor Edward Clark Potter, who was known for specializing in animal subjects, in his studio in Connecticut. Then the Piccirilli Brothers of the Bronx executed the carving of the lions we all know today.
NYPL_191005_16.JPG: Wounded marines of the 2nd Division saluting the flag of their command from the south lion, 1919.
NYPL_191005_19.JPG: The lions have been witnesses to more than a century of history, marked by events from parades and celebrations to protests and demonstrations. Early in their lives, over the course of World War I, these lions watched over Liberty bond rallies, patriotic theater, book drives for soldiers, and events to celebrate the outcome of the war and the return of American veterans.
NYPL_191005_22.JPG: As the world changed, our lions were there to see it -- changes in fashion, cars, culture -- all while remaining a steadfast symbol for what the Library will always be: a center for free access to information for everyone.
NYPL_191005_26.JPG: For conservation reasons, we no longer put anything directly on the lions (though for the holidays they still don special wreaths). But they used to wear fun hats and accessories to mark special occasions.
Patience in top hat and black tie in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the 42nd Street Library, 1986.
NYPL_191005_30.JPG: Fun Facts About Our Timeless Cats
* Sculptor Edward Clark Potter obtained the commission for the lions, but the Piccirilli Brothers executed the carving -- for $5,000.
* When they were first unveiled, some folks didn't like them, including former President Teddy Roosevelt, who thought the Library should have bison (as they are North American animals).
* In a similar vein, a small group of people thought beavers should flank the Library in honor of Library co-founder John Astor, whose family had made a fortune in beaver pelts.
* The lions were placed on their pedestals on May 11, 1911, just days before the 42nd Street Library official opened.
* These big cats are larger than life, stretching more than 11 feet (not counting the tail), about 3 feet longer than their real-life counterparts.
* At first, the lions were called many names, including Leo Astor and Leo Lenox (for the Library's co-founders), as well as "Lady" Astor and Lord Lenox (even though they're both male lions).
* During the Great Depression, New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia dubbed them "Patience" and "Fortitude," qualitied he felt New Yorkers needed to get by.
NYPL_191005_33.JPG: Thanks for your
Patience
during the restoration of our lions.
For more than 100 years, our iconic lions have faithfully stood guard outside of this library -- through every season and element, including wind, rain, snow, traffic exhaust, and other kinds of wear that take a toll on them over time. They've served as witnesses to more than a century of history, and they will live on for centuries more, as long as we do our duty to take care of them.
That's why, approximately every 10 years, our beloved lions must be refreshed and restored. Right now, they are undergoing a much-needed cleaning while several minor cracks and chips are being repaired.
Love our lions as much as we do? Learn how you can help us make sure they live on for centuries or more: nypl.org/restore
NYPL_191005_39.JPG: We appreciate your
Fortitude
during the restoration of our lions.
For more than 100 years, our iconic lions have faithfully stood guard outside of this library -- through every season and element, including wind, rain, snow, traffic exhaust, and other kinds of wear that take a toll on them over time. They've served as witnesses to more than a century of history, and they will live on for centuries more, as long as we do our duty to take care of them.
That's why, approximately every 10 years, our beloved lions must be refreshed and restored. Right now, they are undergoing a much-needed cleaning while several minor cracks and chips are being repaired.
Love our lions as much as we do? Learn how you can help us make sure they live on for centuries or more: nypl.org/restore
NYPL_191221_076.JPG: Seasons Greetings from The New York Public Library's Picture Collection
These vintage greeting cards -- mostly gifts from Library users over the years -- were chosen from the more than 500 holiday cards in NYPL's Picture Collection. Currently located in this building in Room 100, the Picture Collection. Currently located in this building in Room 100, the Picture Collection was founded in 1915 as a reference for visual artists. Today, the collection comprises more than one million iconic images of people, places, nature, and objects from different time periods and from all around the world. Selected from printed sources and arranged by subject, it is the world's largest free, circulating picture resource.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.)
I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
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