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| - In the mid-to-late 1800s, various elite in New York City bequeathed portions of their personal fortunes to the establishment of public libraries for the people of the city- which, at the time, consisted only of Manhattan. The Astor Library was created in 1854 in accordance with the last will and testament of real estate mogul Jacob Astor. The Lenox Library was created in 1877 in accordance with the wishes of scholar and curio collector James Lenox. Politician Samuel Tilden earmarked the bulk of his personal wealth to the creation of a library upon his death in 1886, though it sat untouched in a trust until 1895 when his lawyer, John Bigelow, was able to convince the financially struggling Astor and Lenox Libraries to merge into one unified library along with Tilden’s money. After a generou
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| abstract
| - In the mid-to-late 1800s, various elite in New York City bequeathed portions of their personal fortunes to the establishment of public libraries for the people of the city- which, at the time, consisted only of Manhattan. The Astor Library was created in 1854 in accordance with the last will and testament of real estate mogul Jacob Astor. The Lenox Library was created in 1877 in accordance with the wishes of scholar and curio collector James Lenox. Politician Samuel Tilden earmarked the bulk of his personal wealth to the creation of a library upon his death in 1886, though it sat untouched in a trust until 1895 when his lawyer, John Bigelow, was able to convince the financially struggling Astor and Lenox Libraries to merge into one unified library along with Tilden’s money. After a generous grant by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, the New York City Public Library was established. In 1911, the main branch of the NYPL was opened, located on 5th Avenue between 40th and 42nd, on the site of the former Croton Reservoir. The board of trustees wanted the main branch of the new library system to be an impressive sight, so millions of dollars were allocated to employing the best architects, designers, engineers, sculptors, and artists. Among the more noteworthy decorative flourishes added to the building were a pair of lions “guarding” its front entrance. Originally called Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after founders Jacob Astor and James Lenox, the pair of heavy marble statues eventually had their names changed to Lady Astor and Lord Lenox, and finally Patience and Fortitude- qualities Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia felt New Yorkers would need to survive the economic depression of the 1930s. Over the next few decades, the New York Public Library system would become one of the premier library systems not only in the United States, but in the world. At the turn of the 21st century, the library owned nearly 53 million items, a volume surpassed only by the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., and the British Library, the national library system of the United Kingdom. The main branch of the New York Public Library system was targeted by the Chinese during the Great War, being deemed a target of strategic value due to the valuables it contained inside and because of its cultural significance to the people of the United States. Because the building was nowhere near as tall as the many other skyscrapers in Midtown, it was shielded somewhat from the onslaught. The warhead allocated by the People’s Liberation Army to destroying the NYPL’s main branch struck other buildings, either through sheer accident or because of the chaos of the crumbling buildings around it, buildings that formed the Concrete Jungle.
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