Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-05-21
LARGEST LIBRARY IN WORLD
Great Structure in New York to Be
Dedicated on Wednesday.
THREE FUNDS ARE CONSOLIDATED
lnstitutiOn Opens with Three and
Half million Endowment and Three
Hundred seventy-Three Thou
sand Volumes.

Hundred seventy-Three Thou
sand Volumes.
NEW YORK, May 2O.-The New York
Public library, the largest the most costly
and one of the most beautiful buildings
designed for it's specific uses in the world
will be dedicated to the instruction and
the convenience of the public on Wednes-
day of this week by President Taft, Gov
ernor Dix, Mayor Gaynor and a dlstin-
Euished representation of the culture OF
the entire nation. 1t holds shelf room for
100000 volumes; II has floor space OF
$4,000 feet, as against $4,000 feet in the
Congressional library at Washington, and
It has cost for erection merely more than
$40 900 900, a figure which, when all details
have been attended to, may rise to S12,-
100000. The land on which It stands. front
ing two blocks on Fifth avenue, between
Fortieth and Forty-second street. was
last valued at s20,OOO0OO.
Three foundations. originating in private
beneficence, merge in the present public
foundation-the Aston library, incorporated
in 1919; the Lenox library, incorporated In
1870 and the Tilden trust, incorporated in
1887. The city. empowered by special act
of the legislature, gave the land and de-
frayed the cost of erection. Carrere and
Hastings were the architects. John Car
rere one of the moving spirits in the
American renaissance of the present gen.
Grafton, was run down by a taxlcab and
died before he could see his greatest work
established as a part Of the life of the
community.
AT the time of consolidation, the Astor
library owned it's site and building and
had an endowment OF S941, 900, with an an
nual income of $4,000 and 2S7 900 volumes;
the Lenox library owned its site and
buildings and had an endowment of sos 600.
an income of $4,000 and $1,000 volumes, and
the Tiden trust owned 10000 volumes and
had an endowment of 100000. The New
York Public library, therefore, opens with
a total endowment of $S,446,5OO and $4,000
books on the shelves. Within the next
expected-9,7OO 1900. The catalogue room now
has 100000 cards and can rise to 10000, 900
without feeling cramped.
Low Lays COrnerstOne.
Nine years ago next November the cor
nerstone was laid by Mayor Seth Low.
Since then criticism has been abundant,
not always well informed and often con-
flicting. In great measure the public has
been hampered in any true appreciation
of the building as a whole by the frag-
mentary and ragged state Of its ap-
proaches. Said John w. Alexander, the
painter: THE public library reminds me
of beautiful woman who hasn't kept her
finger nails clean" All that has now been
done away with. The approaches have
been cleared and the building stands free
to the public gaze as the architects
planned.
Not the least interesting about it is the
land on which it stands. At the opening
of the revolution the site was part of the
spacious country place of Robert Murray
a Quaker merchant of the busy city that
then lay three miles south of him. At
that time the town had only reached as
far north as Fulton street. AS 1t grew,
the adjacent countryside took his name
and became Murray Hill, long a select
residential district, still the home OF J..
Pierpont Morgan. but now invaded by the
advancing forces OF business.
In 1890 the city contained 12s, 7O6 inhabi-
tants and about 5000 houses. There was
no strictly residential quarter, but the
most promising development EMBODIED the
field which has since become Washington
Square, at the foot of Fifth avenue. But
there was a drawback, Before the rich
merchants could be expected to build about
the square, 1t was necessary to find a
new potter's field. for the friendless dead
were then buried I'm the acres about to
become pleasure ground for the living.
Accordingly the city bought the land now
bounded to north and south by Fortieth
and Forty-second streets and to east and
west by Fifth and Sixth avenues, for S. 449.
and made potter's field of It. That was
In 1923 and the same land was last valued
at s9O.OO0.OOO
In 1887 1t was decided to make the field a
reservoir for the newly planned Croton
system, not only because the ground was
high, but because it was then far out in
the country, where the air was saIubrious''
and there was little chance of the water
becoming contaminated" The site now
rests at the busiest corner in the city and
Is already beginning TO be counted down.
town, but the reservoir stood, long an
anarehronism, until It was torn down to
make way for the new library.
Dimensions Are Imposing,
The diminsions of the building are impos-
ing in themselves. but much as has been
written about II there is singuarly little
authoritative critical comment on its
architectural merits or defects In ex-
terror dignity, general opinion holds 1t nobIy
adequate. For interior spaciousness and
unity, It Is felt, perhaps, to fall-below the
Boston Public library as a pure monument
OF beauty. but to exceed any other building
Oh its nature in the world for combined
beauty and utility. In general the style Is
. blend OF the Italian and French Rsnais-
sanee' and Gustave Kobbe has character
ixed this blend as thoroughly harmonized
and made congruous not merely con-
glomerate. The result" he says, is artis-
tic and dignified.
The exterior is exclusively of white mar
BILE Very little OF anything else has been
used inside or out, although colored mar
bies. both native and foreign. soft lime
stone and woodwork have been freely en-
ployed as decorative accessories. The
library stands 800 feet long on Fifth ave
nue. and go feet deep. Qncluding the two
interior court yards. carved out Of the main