New York City video tour New York Public Library

Hey everybody it's Jeff from New York and today we are visiting the New York Public Library or more specifically the main branch of the New York Public Library the one that everyone's familiar with located on 5th Avenue between 40th and 42nd Street here in Manhattan. The New York Public Library has branches throughout the city but this is the one that everyone's familiar with with the main branch here on Fifth Avenue. This building opened in 1911. It's four stories high, made entirely of Vermont marble, and the marble on the exterior is three feet thick. The trademark two lions in the front of the library are made out of Tennessee marble, and were originally called In the 1930s, the Lions were renamed Patience Lord Astor and Lady Lennox and Fortitude by Mayor LaGuardia, who chose the names because he felt the citizens for the library's founders. of New York would need to possess these qualities to see themselves through the Great Depression. Besides, it turns out both Lions are male, so the name Lady Lennox just didn't seem to work anymore. Patience is on the south side, or the left side of the staircase, while Fortitude is on the right side of the staircase, or the north side. This iconic building is both a city and national historic landmark. Whether you are coming or going, there's always a bag check. This beautiful grand entrance is called Astor Hall after one of the library's founders. On a side note, if you're a Sex and the City fan, I believe this is where Carrie got dumped on her wedding day. Also as a note, I've been to lots of beautiful places and been in lots of beautiful buildings in this wonderful country of ours, but never have I ever climbed more stairs than I do when I'm at the New York Public Library. It can get exhausting. I'm sure there are elevators in this building making the building accessible to everyone, but they're hard to find and besides, I can certainly use the workout. As you can see, the building is visually stunning, and all this thick marble makes it feel like you're in a fortress. Don't forget to look for Cabby, who always makes a cameo appearance in all my 4k videos. Sometimes he's easy to spot, other times not so much. Be the first to comment on the timestamp where Cabby is, and I'll give you a shout out on my next video. The library is always under either renovation or expansion. This new area here was built several years ago. It's a brand new building as the, again, the library expands. As you can see though, what's really cool about this is the new building doesn't touch the old structure. Although it looks like it's part of the structure, they're actually two separate buildings. The stone walls to the left and right of us used to be the exterior of the original building. A quote from the great Thomas Jefferson. Did you know that a copy of the Declaration of Independence is located here at the library, along with other pieces of Americana, such as the original Bill of Rights, George Washington's handwritten farewell address, and the letter from Christopher Columbus to King Ferdinand documenting his discovery of America? Well, I guess this place is literally a fortress. Here's the top 10 checkouts for the week. It changes every week, obviously. It's also known as the top 10 books with the most germs and live viruses. And speaking of germs and viruses, the New York Public Library has some of the most beautiful water fountains I've ever seen in a building, each one different and unique. I classify this as historical hysterical. Old school phone booths. Does anyone ever use these anymore? I think just about everyone has a phone in their pocket. And just about no one has change in their pocket. So not only are there a lot of stairs in this building, but they can be quite confusing too. Check out this little opening here. They lead to another stairway which you would think would go to the floor that you were just on, but I guess they go to different floors. I have no idea. I just hope I find my way out before closing time. Apparently these stairs just lead to the 42nd street security station for the entrance and exit. Oh my lord! And here we have another view of Astor Hall, the main entrance from the mezzanine level. And here we have the mezzanine. Lots of historic documents up here that you can check out. You could just spend an hour up here alone. By the way, did I mention there's no charge to visit the library? This is all free folks. It's right off the street. You can just walk in and check it out. I'm convinced, and I'm going to do a video eventually, that you can do this city in less than $25 for a day and evening. You can see most of the city, have some food, have some fun. The caveat is you can't stay overnight because then the bill goes up considerably. Just when you think the building couldn't get any more beautiful, you get to the McGraw Rotunda. Not too many places in this building you see wood, so that makes this really a standout here. There's beautiful frescoes on the wall, and check out those light fixtures. Unbelievable. And it's a great setup for where to go next. There's so many options here. This looks like a good place to start. It's a display called Made at NYPL, or Made at New York Public Library. On display here are works created using the resources from the library. All kinds of works, historic and current, including maps, literature, reference materials, all using the resources right here at the New York Public Library. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button. When you do, you're automatically involved in the next $50 gift card giveaway here on the New York Channel. The library has free wifi throughout the building, but if you don't have a computer or you left your laptop at home, feel free to use one of the library's computers to do your research. And here we have one of several reading rooms here at the library. Again, the building details are incredible. Here's another reading room, somewhat smaller, but equipped with tables with plugs, so in case you did bring your laptop, you can do your research here. There's also some awesome portraits on the wall with the history behind each one. And as we make our way down to Astor Hall, where we came in, the main entrance, I do want to say that it's a Sunday here at the library. It seems to be very quiet, especially for a Sunday. A lot of areas are closed off, so maybe we'll revisit the library in the near future, including the gift shop. It has quite a nice gift shop, great books and great gifts. Don't know why, but it's closed today. I've been here on Sundays before, and it was never closed, so maybe there was just an issue with the hours today. I don't know. But we will make a return to this library and check out some of the places we couldn't see today. Back at the McGraw Rotunda, check out the beautiful work on that ceiling. It's just magnificent, this whole area here at the library. Where else in the country do you find buildings like this? Not too many places, I'll tell you. Oh wait, I'm going downstairs. Never mind. The library is located just west of Bryant Park. They're on the same block or blocks I should say. In the 90s the library dug underneath Bryant Park so it could store more volumes. We're gonna leave the library now and check out Bryant Park so make sure you stay tuned. Here on the New York Channel. I hope you enjoyed this video and if you did please like, comment, ask some questions, and most importantly subscribe by clicking on the button on the left. You can visit all of my New York videos by clicking on the top right. Or check out my videos on other favorite places to visit by clicking on the bottom right. Thanks for watching and I'll see you around the city.