United States Department of the Interior National Park Service … · 2020-05-06 · NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) United States Department of the Interior

NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places DRAFT Registration Form

This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional certification comments, entries, and narrative items on continuation sheets if needed (NPS Form 10-900a).

1. Name of Property

historic name New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch

other names/site number

name of related multiple property listing Carnegie Libraries of New York City

Location

street & number 535 West 179th Street not for publication

city or town New York vicinity

state NY code NY county New York code 061 zip code 10003

3. State/Federal Agency Certification

As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended,

I hereby certify that this X nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.

In my opinion, the property X_ meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance:

national statewide X local

Signature of certifying official/Title Date

State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government

In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria.

Signature of commenting official Date

Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government

4. National Park Service Certification

I hereby certify that this property is:

entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register

determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register

other (explain:) _________________

Signature of the Keeper Date of Action

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012)

NYPL, Fort Washington Branch DRAFT New York Co., NY Name of Property County and State

Section 7, Page 1

5. Classification

Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.)

Category of Property (Check only one box.)

Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.)

Contributing Noncontributing

private X building(s) 1 buildings

X public - Local district sites

public - State site structures

public - Federal structure objects

object 1 0 Total

Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing)

Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register

Carnegie Libraries of New York City 0

6. Function or Use

Historic Functions

(Enter categories from instructions.)

Current Functions


EDUCATION / Library EDUCATION / Library

7. Description

Architectural Classification

(Enter categories from instructions.) Materials


LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS / foundation: STONE / Granite

Italian Renaissance walls: STONE / Limestone

roof:

other:



Section 7, Page 2

Narrative Description

(Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property. Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, setting, size, and significant features.) Summary Paragraph

The Fort Washington Branch of the New York Public Library, located at 535 West 179th Street, is within the

neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan. The branch is located on a one-way street in a

neighborhood comprising mostly five- and six-story apartment buildings. The southern blockfront of West 179th

Street facing the library consists of a tall fence separating the residential neighborhood from the Trans-

Manhattan Expressway—a multi-lane sunken interstate highway completed in 1960 and stretching the full

width of Manhattan Island between West 178th and West 179th streets. The rectangular building occupies

nearly the entirety of its 50’ by 100’ lot, with the basement and ground floor extending to the rear lot line. The

nominated parcel is the lot historically associated with the Fort Washington Branch.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Narrative Description

Exterior

The Fort Washington Branch of the New York Public Library is a three-story, five-bay masonry building with

one primary elevation facing West 179th Street. With double-height floors, it is approximately the same height

as the five- and six-story apartment buildings that adjoin it on either side. Its side walls are concealed by the

abutting walls of the buildings directly to the east and west, while its rear elevation is of plain red brick with

stone lintels. There is a small light court along the rear lot line spanning the second and third stories, and

another light court along the eastern property line spanning only the third floor. The building has a flat roof.

The Italian Renaissance Revival style building meets the sidewalk with a granite foundation and water table

and is clad above in limestone. The limestone façade is composed of a monumental rusticated base capped by

a molded belt course, smooth ashlar second and third stories, and an entablature with cornice and frieze. The

frieze bears a carved inscription reading “NEW YORK PVBLIC LIBRARY,” above which is a cornice composed

of a dentil course, an egg-and-dart molding, and modillions. A shallow reveal frames the whole façade,

culminating in a decorative parapet above the entablature that features a central cartouche with symbols from

the city seal, including windmill blades, beavers, and barrels of flour.

At the ground floor, two entrances are set within the building’s granite water table, in the first and fifth bays

(reading west to east), with three rectangular basement window openings with iron grilles in between (in the

second, third, and fourth bays). The arched openings of the entrances are set off by voussoirs forming the

rustication of the building’s base, and above each entrance arch is a keystone embellished with a book and

festooned torch, symbols of learning. Three segmental-arched window openings are centered in between the

entrances, set high within the one-and-a-half-story building base. Three tall arched windows centered on the



Section 7, Page 3

façade at the second story are unified by keystone arches springing from Ionic pilasters between each window;

the keystones are embellished on top with a scroll-and-finial motif. Flanking this monumental window

composition, which denotes the “piano nobile,” are two much smaller, unadorned window openings.

Rectangular punched window openings with bracketed sills are spread evenly across the five bays of the third

story; the splayed keystone lintels of these windows are subtly expressed in the patterning of the flush ashlar

masonry. A similar lintel treatment is seen at the rectangular windows on the second story.

The building appears to retain its historic windows, including paired casement sash separated by vertical

mullions and topped by operable transoms (either hopper, awning, or pivot) over molded transom bars. The

windows in the first and fifth bays of the second story are simple paired casement sash with no transoms.

Arched transom lights fixed within molded frames are set over the building entrance doors at the first story and

over the rectangular transoms of the monumental windows at the second story.

Two historic but non-original copper lantern sconces mark the primary entrance in the first bay of the ground

floor, and an original bronze date plaque is mounted on the façade directly to the west of this entrance. A non-

historic name plaque is mounted directly to the east, and below that is a metal mailbox. A fallout shelter sign is

mounted on the façade above and to the left of this entrance, and a flagpole is mounted directly above it at the

level of the belt course. Non-historic paired metal doors with vision panels are set within the main entrance

opening; it appears that both the historic door casing and molded transom frame above remain. A single solid

metal door is set within the secondary entrance opening in the fifth bay; both the historic door casing and

molded transom frame remain. Both entrances are accessed by a single granite step.

Interior

On the interior, the Fort Washington Branch remains remarkably intact in plan, furnishings, and finishes. The

original design intent for the Carnegie libraries was that each floor should be laid out essentially as a single

large room, with books stacks and other furniture dividing it into more intimate spaces. At this branch, the only

alteration to the general scheme is the addition of a small office space that has been framed out with half-

height walls at the northwest (left rear) corner of the ground floor. Otherwise the open plan remains as

originally designed and has allowed a large degree of flexibility in rearranging the individual spaces. Some of

the movable furniture has been repositioned, although the size of each space has been retained. All the built-in

furniture remains intact. Interior finishes are similar throughout the building and are also intact. Walls and

ceilings are plaster. Simple square interior columns are also plastered and capped with molded capitals or

plaster brackets. The most ornate elements include the built-in wood stacks and cabinets, wood window

benches, and iron stair railings. Alterations are generally limited to replacement of light fixtures, installation of

exposed conduit and ductwork below the ceiling, tile flooring, and non-historic stacks in certain spaces

including the basement reference room.



Section 7, Page 4

The library encompasses approximately 14,500 square feet of interior space on three floors plus the basement.

The ground floor is occupied primarily by the adult circulation and reading rooms, the second floor contains the

children’s section, the third floor was historically a caretaker’s apartment and meeting rooms (both now

unoccupied), and the basement originally contained an assembly room (now converted into the adult reference

room).

The main entrance, located in the building’s left bay, leads to a circulation corridor running along the west (left)

side of the building. A shallow vestibule leads to a pair of historic wood doors and a up short flight of stairs to

the main hall. Along the west (left) wall of the hall is an original built-in display case. Directly ahead, a flight of

stairs leads to the second floor. A hall to the right of that leads to the basement stairs and offices at the rear of

the building.

The first floor is mostly an open plan spanning the right four bays. Four distinct spaces are arranged front-to-

back along the length of the building and are delineated by short (three-shelf) and tall (seven-shelf) book

stacks. The west and east walls are lined with built-in historic wood stacks. Above the east wall a balcony with

historic iron railing provides access to a second tier of built-in stacks

The front space was originally the Adults’ Circulation Reading Room. It features original wood seats below

three center windows. The space was originally occupied by reading tables and now contains four historic

short stacks. Behind that space is the original U-shaped circulation desk (minimally modified with an additional

countertop to close the open side of the U). Along the east (right) wall a built-in cabinet containing the library

dumbwaiter punctuates the built-in stacks. To the rear of that space is the Adult Circulation Stack Room,

containing four historic short stacks. The space at the rear of the building was originally the Adult Reading and

Reference Room. It now contains reading tables and non-historic short stacks. An original wood bench spans

the rear wall below three massive windows. Along the west wall additional office space has been framed in

with half-height walls.

The second-floor children’s section is essentially one large space aside from the stair hall and a small office

occupying the northwest (back left) corner of the building. Historic wood window benches line the front wall

between short stacks. More short stacks line the east wall, which is also punctuated by a fireplace towards the

front of the building and a built-in dumbwaiter cabinet towards the middle.

The third floor is currently not open to the public. According to historic plans, it is somewhat smaller than the

lower floors, with a light court carved out along the east side of the building towards the center, in addition to

the rear light court. The stairway is located in line with those on the lower floors along the west wall.

The basement is arranged similarly to the upper floors, with the stair hall along the west wall. A small hallway

beside the stairs leads to restrooms and office space. A larger transverse corridor towards the middle of the



Section 7, Page 5

building separates the reference room (originally the auditorium) in the rear and offices at the front of the

building.



Section 8 page 1

8. Statement of Significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.)

A Property is associated with events that have made a

significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.

B Property is associated with the lives of persons

significant in our past.

X C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics

of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction.

D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.)

Property is:

A

Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes.

B removed from its original location.

C a birthplace or grave.

D a cemetery.

E a reconstructed building, object, or structure.

F a commemorative property.

G less than 50 years old or achieving significance

within the past 50 years.

Areas of Significance


Architecture

Period of Significance

1914

Significant Dates

1914

Significant Person

(Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.)

Cultural Affiliation

Architect/Builder

Architect: Walter Cook and Winthop A. Welch

(of Cook & Welch)

Builders: William L. Crow Construction Company

Period of Significance (justification)

The period of significance was identified as 1914, the year the Fort Washington Branch was completed and opened to the public. Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary)



Section 8 page 2

Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance and applicable criteria.)

The Fort Washington Branch of the New York Public Library has been nominated as part of the Carnegie

Libraries of New York City Multiple Property Documentation Form. As outlined in that document, the Carnegie

Libraries, including the Fort Washington Branch, are significant under Criteria C in the area of architecture,

comprising “a cohesive collection of public buildings…[displaying] a uniformity of design…while also allowing

ample freedom of expression to the individual designer.” The architects of the Fort Washington Branch closely

followed the dictates of the NYPL Carnegie program, most notably in the use of the vertically oriented, three-

story form, the academic interpretation of Italian Renaissance precedents, and the use of limestone as a

facade material.

This property meets all of the registration requirements enumerated in the MPDF: this branch has been

recognized as a Carnegie Library on all canonical lists, and is located within the boundaries of New York City;

funding for its construction was provided by Carnegie’s grant to the city as demonstrated in correspondence

between the two parties; it was built during the period when the Carnegie library program was active in the city;

and it retains sufficient architectural integrity on both the exterior and interior to illustrate its historic association.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Developmental history/additional historic context information

The Branch in the Context of New York City’s Carnegie Library Program

The Fort Washington Branch was the 60th library in New York City built with Carnegie funds out of a grand total

of 67 throughout the five boroughs. Within the New York Public Library system (i.e. not including the separate

Brooklyn and Queens systems), it was the 37th of 39 NYPL Carnegie libraries and the 26th and final one

completed in Manhattan.1

The completion of this branch marks the end of the primary phase of the NYPL Carnegie program.2 It opened

in April 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I precipitated a shortage of building supplies, and a year

before the Carnegie Corporation began shifting its focus from funding library buildings to funding library

1 Including non-Carnegie buildings, it was the NYPL’s 43rd branch to open. Branch Library News 1, 29. Internal planning

documents frequently referred to it as site number 38. 2 The NYPL Fort Washington Branch was succeeded only by the Fordham (1923) and Hunts Point Branches (1929), both

in the Bronx. The Carnegie Libraries of New York City MPDF also includes two other buildings that postdate the Fort Washington Branch: the Washington Irving Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (1923) and the Woodhaven Branch of the Queens Public Library (1924).



Section 8 page 3

operations and programming.3 It was the last of a group of five Carnegie branches planned and built in the

early 1910s, most in recently developed neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the Bronx.4

Unlike many of the earlier Carnegie libraries in New York City, these new branches did not trace their origins to

one of the pre-consolidation free libraries, but rather were created to serve new communities. As the NYPL’s

own Branch Library News noted:

This new branch [Fort Washington] is the Library’s “farthest north” in Manhattan, as it is about a mile north

of the new Washington Heights branch. It will accommodate a rapidly growing population hitherto served

only by the Travelling Libraries or by more distant branches.5

The library was designed by the firm of Cook & Welch, seasoned veterans of the NYPL Carnegie library

program. Walter Cook (1846-1916)—a founding partner in the firm in 1877—served as lead designer, while

Winthrop A. Welch (1871-1914), who joined the firm in 1899 and became a named partner in 1912, oversaw

engineering and construction.6 Cook had, in fact, designed Carnegie’s own mansion at 2 East 91st Street in

1899-1903 (NHL 1966).7 While he was working on that project, in 1901, he was named to the NYPL’s

Temporary Advisory Committee of Architects—which assisted library leadership in determining the best way to

proceed with the design and construction of the new branches—and was ultimately named to its permanent

committee, which divvied up the actual design work for the individual buildings.8 With an evolving roster of

architectural partners, Cook’s firm designed eleven Carnegie libraries for the NYPL, nine in Manhattan and two

in the Bronx.9

The Fort Washington Neighborhood

The Fort Washington neighborhood is located near the north end of Manhattan Island, which is distinguished

from the rest of the borough by its relatively hilly topography and picturesque setting on a narrow neck of land

3 See Carnegie Libraries of New York City MPDF, Section E, Page 3. 4 These five branches were completed after a brief hiatus in the NYPL Carnegie program, in which no new buildings were

opened between 1909 and 1913. This period roughly corresponds to the completion of the NYPL main building on Bryant Park, which may have occupied the attention of library leadership. The other branches from this period of the NYPL Carnegie program include the West Fortieth Street (1913, Cook & Welch) and Washington Heights (1914, Carrère & Hastings) branches in Manhattan, and the Melrose (1914, Carrère & Hastings) and Woodstock (1914, McKim, Mead & White) branches in the Bronx.

5 Branch Library News 1, 29. 6 The firm’s various iterations included Babb & Cook (1877-84), Babb, Cook & Willard (1884-1908), Babb, Cook & Welch

(1908-12), and finally Cook & Welch (1912-?). Other senior partners included George Fletcher Babb (1843-1916) and Daniel W. Willard (1849-c. 1943).

7 It is now occupied by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and is listed on the State (1980) and National (1966) Registers.

8 Cook in fact served as the spokesperson for the permanent committee, conducting public outreach including lectures and interviews.

9 Their Manhattan commissions, in chronological order by opening, were: 67th Street (1905); 96th Street (1905); St. Agnes (1906); Webster (1906); 58th Street (1907); Columbus (1909); Seward Park (1909); West 40th Street (1913); and Fort Washington (1914). Their Bronx branches were Mott Haven (1905) and Morrisania (1908).



Section 8 page 4

nestled between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers. The library and neighborhood are named after a

Revolutionary War fortification that stood at the summit of Long Hill, the highest point in Manhattan, in what is

now Bennet Park between West 183rd and West 185th streets at Fort Washington Avenue. In the post-

Independence War period this area was mostly occupied by farms and genteel estates; the land now occupied

by the library was owned by Blaze Moore, a tobacconist whose primary residence and stores were located in

the East Ward of Lower Manhattan.

The street plan of Fort Washington—and Northern Manhattan as a whole—is an extension of Manhattan’s

primary grid that dates to 1811. In the early 19th century the street commissioners ended their plans at 155th

Street, believing that, “it is improbable that (for centuries to come) the grounds north of Haerlem Flat will be

covered with houses.”10 Within a half century, however, the city had expanded far enough north that settlement

all the way to the island’s northern tip was seen as inevitable. In 1860 the city established the Washington

Heights Commission to create a plan for the area. After producing a detailed topographical survey of the area,

its authority was transferred to the Central Park Commission in 1865. Under the direction of Andrew Haskell

Green, the commission laid out a mostly rectilinear series of north-south avenues and east-west side streets

that for the most part followed the existing grid but also included several picturesque curvilinear roads following

the area’s hilly topography.11

At the turn of the 20th century, Fort Washington was still mostly open land, its streets existing only on paper. A

few clusters of row houses were scattered here and there, interspersed with institutional landmarks such as the

New York Juvenile Asylum at 176th Street and the High Bridge Aqueduct and Reservoir at 173rd Street.12

Within a decade, however, it had completed its transformation into a dense urban neighborhood characterized

primarily by five- and six-story apartment buildings.13 In New York City, transportation improvements usually

catalyzed real estate development. Fort Washington’s building boom was clearly sparked by the planning and

opening of the city’s first subway line. Enabling legislation for the subway was passed in 1891, although it took

nearly a decade, until 1899, for the final route to be approved.14 Construction began in 1900 and a portion of

10 They also wanted to discourage speculation in vacant land, claiming that “to have gone further might have furnished

materials to the pernicious spirit of speculation.” “Remarks of the Commissioners for Laying Out Streets and Roads in the City of New York, Under the Act of April 3, 1807.”

11 Green’s plan also called for a bridge across the Harlem River; which eventually led to the construction of the Washington Bridge at the foot of West 181st Street in 1886-89. In subsequent years several more streets were added to the plan, creating a denser neighborhood than originally intended. Hillary Ballon, ed. “Green’s Reforms for Northern Manhattan, 1868.” The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan 1811-Now. The Museum of the City of New York, 2015. https://thegreatestgrid.mcny.org/greatest-grid/north-of-central-park/272.

12 Some of these later 19th century row houses survive, including the group a block west of the library at 603 to 619 West 179th Street. The Juvenile Asylum moved to Westchester County in 1901.

13 This transformation is clearly illustrated by contrasting the 1897 and 1911 Bromley atlas pages for this area. 14 This legislation was the Rapid Transit Act of 1891. The original route, often known as Contract 1, went from Lower

Manhattan north along Lafayette Place and Park Avenue (corresponding to the current 4/5/6 line), curved west along



Section 8 page 5

the line below 145th Street opened in 1904. The section through northern Manhattan—which included the

station at West 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue only a couple blocks north of the library site—was opened

in March 1906.

The opening of the subway line through Fort Washington occurred just a few years after the city passed the

Tenement House Act of 1901 (often referred to as the “New Law”).15 This legislation had an enormous

influence on the design of the residential buildings in the neighborhood, particularly on their size and massing.

Among its provisions, the law required that all multi-family residences have generous light courts and set a cap

on allowable lot coverage. This resulted in the remarkably uniform streetscapes of five- and six-story apartment

buildings, usually T- or H-shaped in plan, with modest ornament mostly limited to the ground floor and top

story. The block on which the library is located is illustrative of this development history. Like most of the

neighborhood, it is almost exclusively covered with five- and six-story apartment buildings completed between

the early 1900s and the 1920s.16 The only non-residential building aside from the library is a six-story garage

building facing Audubon Avenue, which perhaps was built in anticipation of the increasing automobile traffic

that would soon arrive in the neighborhood.

Several later transportation infrastructure projects also left their indelible mark on the neighborhood. A second

subway line was proposed as early as 1914, the same year the library opened. One article noted that, “A

considerable part of upper Manhattan, including Fort Washington ridge and Inwood Hill, is without means of

access to the subway, and a great area of extraordinarily valuable property is retarded in development.”17 As

with the original line, construction was delayed by several years of planning and political wrangling, and the

Eighth Avenue Subway and its West 181st Street station didn’t open until 1932.18 This same period also saw

the planning and construction of the George Washington Bridge, a monumental suspension bridge meant to

carry the region’s rapidly increasing automobile traffic. Enabling legislation was passed in 1925, construction

started in 1927, and the road opened in 1931. The location, spanning the Hudson River between Fort

Washington in New York and Fort Lee in New Jersey, was chosen in large part due to its favorable

topography. The relatively tall cliffs on either side of the river allowed designers to minimize the height of the

approach ramps while still maintaining proper clearance under the bridge for maritime traffic. Even with this

42nd Street (the Time Square Shuttle), then proceeded up Broadway to 96th Street with spurs going under Central Park to the Bronx (2/3 line) and farther north along Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue to the Bronx (1 line).

15 Though the word “tenement” has taken on negative connotations, at the time it was a legal term simply meaning any residential building containing three or more apartments, each with its own kitchen. In many historic documents the classification “apartment” and “tenement” were used interchangeably.

16 The buildings immediately flanking the library on West 179th Street were completed in 1905 (no. 531, under NB 728-1905) and 1921 (no. 539, under NB 89-1921).

17 Real Estate Record 93 (June 13, 1914), 1050. The same article noted that the population of the area had grown from 15,000 in 1904 to 130,000 in 1914.



Section 8 page 6

advantageous location, three entire blocks of apartment buildings just southwest of the library site were

demolished to make way for the Manhattan approach.19

Perhaps the biggest change to the neighborhood—and one that had a direct impact on the immediate

surroundings and architectural context of the Fort Washington Branch—occurred mid-century with the

construction of the Trans-Manhattan Expressway. As originally conceived by the Port Authority in 1955, this

project comprised a twelve-lane sunken highway spanning the width of Manhattan Island and linking the

George Washington Bridge on the west with the Alexander Hamilton Bridge and the Cross-Bronx Expressway

to the east. Construction entailed the demolition of five entire blocks of buildings between West 178th and

179th streets, from Fort Washington Avenue to Amsterdam Avenue, and the displacement of 1,824

households.20 The expressway itself was completed in 1960. A few years later the Port Authority Bus Station

(Pier Luigi Nervi-1963) and the high-rise Bridge Apartments (Brown & Guenther-1964) were built above

the highway. When the whole complex was finished, the Fort Washington Branch no longer looked out on a

narrow residential street lined with five- and six-story apartment houses, but rather faced a chain link fence

screening the pit-like interstate flanked by skyscraping residential towers.

Design and Construction of the Fort Washington Branch

The NYPL began planning for the Fort Washington Branch as early as 1911. The city, which oversaw site

selection and acquisition, approved the West 179th Street location on November 23, 1911 and obtained title to

the land on December 29.21 An existing frame dwelling on the lot had a pre-existing lease through July 1912,

slightly delaying the project.22 By January 1913, however, the NYPL wrote to Andrew Carnegie’s agent that,

“The plans and specifications for the Fort Washington branch are about completed by the architects, Messrs.

Walter Cook & Winthrop A. Welch. We expect to call for bids within a week or two and we hope to be in a

position to have our Executive Committee authorize the awarding of the contract at its meeting in February.”23

That same month the Department of Buildings issued New Building Permit 2-1913 approving construction of

18 This new line was part of the Independent City-Owned Subway System (IND), which was unified with the separate

Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) systems in 1940. 19 The cleared blocks were located between West 178th and 179th Street, from Haven to Fort Washington Avenue. 20 Hillary Ballon and Kenneth T. Jackson, eds. Robert Moses and the Modern City: the Transformation of New York (New

York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007), 218. 21 Harry Miller Lydenburg, History of the New York Public Library (New York: The New York Public Library, 1923), 544-

545. 22 The city acquired the land from the Hamilton Holding Co. Real Estate Record 88 (December 16, 1911), 912. 23 Carnegie Corporation Records, correspondence from John S. Billing (NYPL Director) to Robert A. Franks (Carnegie

Corporation treasurer), 27 January 1913, Reel 22. A week later the local press issued a similar announcement, noting the architects had “completed plans and will soon take bids for a 3-sty brick and limestone Carnegie Library.” Real Estate Record 91 (January 18, 1913), 145.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier_Luigi_Nervi



Section 8 page 7

the library, and in March 1913 the general contract for the building was awarded to the William S. Crow

Construction Company.24

In total the Fort Washington Branch cost $132,607, with $20,000 paid by the city for land acquisition and

$112,607 paid by the Carnegie fund for the building and equipment.25 This was nearly 50 percent higher than

the amount originally agreed upon with Carnegie. In 1913 NYPL Assistant Director Edwin H. Anderson wrote a

letter to the philanthropist explaining the cost increase:

As you probably know, the cost of building has increased very much since your generous offer to the

City...the original estimate of $80,000 per building has proved to be too low for the average cost of a

branch library building in this City…We find in order to make them safe against fire, and to avoid the

necessity of fire escapes on their fronts, we have to use the kind of construction which, while it is common

in New York, is by no means cheap.26

This letter suggests that the NYPL Carnegie Program might wind down in the 1910s—after the completion of

the Fort Washington Branch and its four sister libraries—in large part due to the increase in building expense.

As Anderson noted in that same correspondence, “I do not see how we can possibly build more than two or

three [more] branches.”27

The design of the Fort Washington Branch is typical of the Carnegie Libraries erected in Manhattan. The site

presented no particular difficulties nor did it offer any unusual opportunities to the building’s architects, being

mid-block on a flat lot measuring exactly the standard 50’ by 100.’ The location dictated that there be only one

designed facade facing West 179th Street; the side elevations are hidden by adjoining buildings while the rear

elevation faces the interior of the block. Reflecting the density of the borough, most of the Manhattan libraries

were vertically oriented, standing three extra-tall stories, usually above a raised basement. The Fort

Washington Branch, though of standard width, is somewhat unusual in having five bays rather than the usual

three (although the outer-most bays are visually less prominent, retaining the emphasis on the double-height

triple windows in the center bays).

The NYPL Advisory Committee of Architects—of which Cook was a member—stipulated that the Carnegie

branches should “be of one distinctive and uniform type, so that the most ignorant child going through the

24 Crow’s firm also built two Carnegie Libraries for the Brooklyn Public Library: the Saratoga and Walt Whitman Branches,

both opened 1908. 25 Lyndenburg, History, 545. The Branch Library News pegged the total cost a little higher, at approximately $155,000.

Branch Library News 1, 29. 26 Carnegie Corporation Records, correspondence from Edwin H. Anderson (NYPL Assistant Director) to Andrew

Carnegie, 15 January 1913, Reel 22. 27 This prediction proved correct, as the NYPL only built two more Carnegie-funded libraries after the Fort Washington

Branch. See footnote 2 for information about later libraries.



Section 8 page 8

streets of the City will at once know a Carnegie Library when he or she sees it.”28 One of the primary means of

achieving this recognizability was by placing the primary reading room “near enough to the sidewalk level for

passersby to look as it were into a show window and see the readers.”29 This arrangement necessitated

placing the entrance to the side, rather than centered on the facade as would typically be favored in a Beaux

Arts-inspired building. The Fort Washington Branch solves this problem by mirroring the main entrance in the

left bay with a secondary entrance (leading directly to the basement) in the right bay, giving the facade more

perfect symmetry than most branches.

The Advisory Committee also sought to establish the NYPL Carnegie Library brand through the use of a

shared architectural vocabulary—in this case by requiring that each branch should follow “in a broad general

way certain Italian precedents.”30 The Fort Washington Branch’s Italian Renaissance Revival design is a rather

academic interpretation of an Italian palazzo. Characteristic features include the rusticated ground floor with

radiating voussoirs above the entrance and window openings, the arcaded round-arched windows on the

second story, and the modillioned cornice with dentils and egg-and-dart molding. The material palate (Indiana

limestone with a granite base and water table), as well as certain small details—such as the entrance lanterns,

inscribed frieze, and carved escutcheon atop the cornice—also helped mark this as a public building and

connect it to the NYPL Carnegie program.

Inside, the branch’s interior plan was typical of the Manhattan NYPL Carnegie libraries, where “Each storey

(sic) has been treated as one large room…with all necessary subdivisions made by means of bookcases or

screens.”31 The circulation core was located along the western side wall and rooms that needed to be

enclosed, such as offices and rest rooms, were tucked against it along a small hallway. For interior spaces, the

Branch Library News noted that:

An assembly room seating two hundred and fifty people is provided in the basement; the circulation,

reading and reference rooms for adults are located on the first floor; the children’s room is on the second

floor; club study rooms and the janitor’s apartment occupy the third floor.32

Its architects followed the directive that “The interior dispositions of the branch libraries [be] of extreme

simplicity.”33 Finishes were relatively austere, consisting of plaster walls, ceilings, and columns. The most

ornate elements included the woodwork (bookshelves, window benches, and the circulation desk) and

ironwork (stair and balcony railings). Perhaps the most distinctive interior features of the Fort Washington

28 Letter from John S. Billings to Andrew Carnegie, November 9, 1901, quoted in Mary B. Dierickx, The Architecture of

Literacy: The Carnegie Libraries of New York City (New York: Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the New York City Department of General Services, 1996), 29.

29 Theodore Wesley Koch, A Book of Carnegie Libraries (New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1917), 36. 30 Quoted in Koch, Book, 36. 31 Koch, Book, 36. 32 Branch Library News 1, 29. 33 Koch, Book, 36.



Section 8 page 9

Branch are the first-floor balcony—which runs nearly the entire length of the eastern side wall and provides

access to the double-decker shelving units—and the second-floor fireplace, which once provided a cozy book

nook in the children’s reading room. A built-in display case just inside the entrance vestibule still provides a

place for local history and art exhibitions.

Operation and Subsequent History

The Fort Washington Branch was officially dedicated on the evening of Tuesday, April 14, 1914.34 A

description of the modest opening ceremony was published in the Branch Library News:

The Fort Washington branch was opened on the evening of April 14. An address on behalf of the

Trustees of The New York Public Library was delivered by John Henry Hammond, Esq., while the

presiding officer, Hon. Marcus M. Marks, president of the Borough of Manhattan, spoke as the

representative of the City of New York. Dr. Edward W. Stitt, District Superintendent of Schools, and Mr. J.

Sherman Moulton, spoke on behalf of the residents of the Fort Washington district. Mr. Edwin H.

Anderson, Director of The New York Public Library, gave a brief talk about the building and its use.35

Over the course of its operation, the Fort Washington Branch has served a diverse and constantly evolving

readership. The area’s congressional representative, Charles B. Rangel, noted at the 80th anniversary

celebration in 1994 that “thousands of people the world over and from all of walks of life have availed

themselves of the services of this branch…In the 1920s and 1930s immigrants came mostly from

Europe…Now, the majority are coming from the Caribbean…as well as from the Soviet Union.”36 In the 1980s

the branch librarian described the neighborhood as “a multi-ethnic section of Manhattan…There are times, at

least in the children’s room when Fort Washington seems to be a kind of idealized U.N.”37 Today the NYPL

advertises the branch’s collection of Spanish and Russian language books, as well as its English education

classes.

Since its opening, the library has undergone relatively minor alterations and changes. In 1936 the auditorium in

the basement was upgraded into a proper theater using funds from the Works Progress Administration. The

library had its own theater company, the Fort Washington Players, and was later used by the Equity Library

Theater. The theater was removed in 1949 and the reference room moved from the third floor to the basement.

In 2006 the second-floor children’s room was updated during renovations designed by Sage and Coombe

Architects. The firm notes that it was “tasked with creating inviting new spaces with limited resources,”

suggesting their intervention involved consisted mostly of new furniture and the installation of several large

34 The building was actually opened to the public a week earlier, on April 6, for the registration of borrowers. Books

distribution started a day after the official opening, on April 15. “Another New Branch,” Branch Library News 1 (March 1914), 29.

35 “New Library Opened,” Branch Library News 1 (May 1914), 64. 36 Fort Washington records, finding aid. 37 Fort Washington records, finding aid.



Section 8 page 10

light fixtures. The NYPL currently is planning a major capital improvement of the Fort Washington Branch,

scheduled for completion in July 2022



Sections 9-end page 1

9. Major Bibliographical References

Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.) Branch Library News. New York: The New York Public Library. Ballon, Hillary, ed. “Green’s Reforms for Northern Manhattan, 1868.” The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan 1811-Now. Museum of the City of New York. 2015. https://thegreatestgrid.mcny.org/greatest-grid/north-of-central-park/272. Ballon, Hillary, and Kenneth T. Jackson, eds. Robert Moses and the Modern City: the Transformation of New York. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. Carnegie Corporation of New York Records, CC#0001. Columbia University Libraries, New York. Dain, Phyllis. The New York Public Library: A History of its Founding and Early Years. New York: New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, 1972. Dierickx, Mary B. The Architecture of Literacy: The Carnegie Libraries of New York City. New York: Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the New York City Department of General Services, 1996. Fort Washington Branch records. New York Public Library, New York. Finding aid compiled by Jim Moske. Koch, Theodore Wesley. A Book of Carnegie Libraries. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1917. Lydenberg, Harry Miller. History of The New York Public Library. New York: The New York Public Library, 1923. Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data:

preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67 has been State Historic Preservation Office requested) Other State agency

previously listed in the National Register Federal agency

previously determined eligible by the National Register Local government

designated a National Historic Landmark University

recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________ Other

recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________ Name of repository:

recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________

Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned):




10. Geographical Data

Acreage of Property .12 acres

(Do not include previously listed resource acreage.) UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.) 1 18 589872 4522419 3

Zone

Easting

Northing Zone

Easting

Northing

2 4

Zone

Easting

Northing

Zone

Easting

Northing

Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.)

The boundary is indicated by a heavy line on the enclosed map with scale. Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.)

The nomination boundary includes the lot that has been historically associated with the New York Public Library Fort Washington Branch.













11. Form Prepared By

name/title Christopher D. Brazee

organization date March 2020

street & number 174 4th Street telephone 518-279-6229

city or town Troy state NY zip code 12180

e-mail [email protected]

Additional Documentation

Submit the following items with the completed form:

• Maps: A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.

A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Key all photographs to this map.

• Continuation Sheets

• Additional items: (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items.)

Photographs:

Submit clear and descriptive photographs. The size of each image must be 1600x1200 pixels at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or larger. Key all photographs to the sketch map.

Name of Property: New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch City or Vicinity: New York County: New York State: New York Photographer: Christopher D. Brazee (except where noted) Date Photographed: March 2020 (except where noted) Description of Photograph(s) and number: NY_New York Co_New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch_0001 The primary façade of the Fort Washington Branch facing West 179th Street, facing northeast. NY_New York Co_New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch_0002 The library in its context on West 179th Street, facing north. NY_New York Co_New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch_0003 First floor reading room, looking towards the front of the building, showing historic wood windows and built-in benches. Historic Districts Council, 2009. NY_New York Co_New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch_0004 First floor reading room, looking towards the rear of the building, showing the stairs to the balcony that spans the eastern wall. Historic Districts Council, 2009.




NY_New York Co_New York Public Library, Fort Washington Branch_0005 Second floor children's reading room, looking towards the front of the building, showing historic wood windows and built-in shelves. Historic Districts Council, 2009. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC.
















Documents

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service … · 2020-05-06 · NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) United States Department of the Interior