Niarchos library rises from the ashes of Mid-Manhattan (Constable, Taylor: construction, department store)

[Cida]

So many libraries all say they need renovations, but MM really was shabby to the point of depressing. And those awful bathrooms!

I will mention, though, that those vast uncarpeted spaces shown in the illlustration imply that the slightest noise will bounce all over the place.

Oh, and what department store used to be there?

A Glowing Shrine to the Printed Word
A mighty wall of books impresses in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, a transformed branch that bursts with new services and technology.
After three years of construction and $200 million, the library system was ready to reopen its largest circulating branch in spring 2020. Instead, the pandemic extended the closure. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, or SNFL, as it is now known (after a $55 million gift), finally threw open its doors to unlimited browsing in June.
Stavros Niarchos now delights book obsessives but also offers lines of computers atop long tables and a dizzying array of technology training, career exploration, life-skills help, and personal enrichment in its 180,000 square feet. Marx called this “a more proactive model of the library” on a recent walk-through.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/a...ry-review.html

[Chava61]

I have a friend who works there. He told me the roofdesk space for eating outdoors is nice in good weather.

[Dehumidifier]

Originally Posted by Cida

Oh, and what department store used to be there?

It was Arnold Constable. Closed in 1975. I think it was similar to Lord and Taylor .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold...le_%26_Company

Thank God the library abandoned its plan to sell this building and cram everything into the Schwarzmann.

[Cida]

Originally Posted by Chava61

I have a friend who works there. He told me the roofdesk space for eating outdoors is nice in good weather.

Is it for the public, or just for workers?

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by Cida

Is it for the public, or just for workers?

It is for the public. But my friend was able to eat (the lunch he brought with him) there as an employee before it opened to the public.

[Cida]

Originally Posted by Dehumidifier

It was Arnold Constable. Closed in 1975. I think it was similar to Lord and Taylor .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold...le_%26_Company

Thank God the library abandoned its plan to sell this building and cram everything into the Schwarzmann.

Ah! Constable. That was before my time. I wish I could have seen it.