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Our archivist, Anne Kumer preserves the history of the park, and reminds us to keep the past and present connected.
Bronze statue of Washington Irving that stood in Bryant Park until the early 1900s. The author of “Sleepy Hollow”, Irving was one of the first American writers to gain international acclaim, and had served on the park's advisory council.
In the late 1800s to early 1900s, a large bronze bust of Washington Irving, mounted on a granite pedestal, stood in the North side of Bryant Park. In 1935, the Irving bust was moved to Washington Irving High School, where it remains today.
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Concurrent with Bryant Park’s facelift, the New York Public Library embarked on a large construction project of its own: the addition of 120,000 square feet of library stacks beneath the surface of the Bryant Park lawn. The 30 foot excavation for the two story stacks began in July 1988, with Tishman Realty & Construction Co., Ltd. managing construction.
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In 1932, a replica of Federal Hall was constructed in Bryant Park to celebrate the bicentennial of George Washington. The original building was located on Wall Street and it was there that Washington took his first oath of office.
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In 1932, a replica of Federal Hall was constructed in Bryant Park to celebrate the bicentennial of George Washington. The original building was located on Wall Street and it was there that Washington took his first oath of office.
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The Latting Observatory, built as part of the Crystal Palace Exhibition, afforded paying guests views to Staten Island, Queens, and New Jersey from three separate observation decks. The faux fish eye lithograph below shows the view from the tallest observation deck of the tower. In the foreground, along West 42nd Street, is the Crystal Palace on the right, near Sixth Ave., and the Croton Reservoir (later the site of the NYPL) bordered by Fifth Avenue.
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In 1913 the Stern Brothers Department Store moved from their location on 23rd Street to build a new flagship store on West 42nd Street, across from Bryant Park, where it would remain for many years. That building was nine stores tall, with a separate entrance for those wealthy enough to be in the know. The new building was a big enough deal for the Indiana Limestone Company to use it and the neighboring Aeolian building in a 1921 advertisement for their product.
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This postcard, most likely of the park between 1913 and 1917, shows West 42nd Street, a pre-Chrysler building skyline, and offers evidence of park bench enthusiasm.
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Taken in 1912, this is one of our earliest photos of the park. It shows West 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, about where the W.R. Grace building is now, and a zillion benches lining paths inside the park. All of those buildings have been razed and replaced, and in many cases, their replacements replaced.
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The photograph above is a pedestrian-level view of the underground IRT construction on 42nd Street, looking east, with Bryant Park to the right, and 42nd Street to the left.
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The elevated station at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, looking east towards Fifth Avenue. The Croton Reservoir is visible on the right, as well as Bryant Park (then Reservoir Square), signified by that clump of trees just in front of the reservoir.
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The Crystal Palace, also known as the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, was situated next to the Croton Reservoir (now the location of the New York Public Library), where Bryant Park is today.
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Overview of the Croton Reservoir, seen from the corner of Fifth Ave. and 42nd Street, 1900. Photo: NYPL Digital Gallery
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A pedestrian level view of the Croton Distributing Reservoir at the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Ave. Photo: NYPL Digital Gallery
Taken in June 1934, this photo shows the present location of the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain on the west side of the park. Photo: NYC Parks Department
Construction in Bryant Park, May 1934, before the fountain was moved to its present location. Prior to 1934, it was located on the east end of the park, just behind the New York Public Library. Photo: NYC Parks Department
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Mid-1930s postcard showing the park after the Moses Renovation.
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During the summer of 1991, most of the park was not quite yet ready to reopen. However, Park management, the NYC Parks Department, and Community Board 5, agreed to a partial opening of the Fountain Terrace on July 1, 1991. To prepare, BPC (then called, Bryant Park Restoration Project) purchased 400 sturdy, white stackable chairs.
In 1988 the NYPL put two floors of additional library stacks beneath Bryant Park's lawn, seen here in a rendering by Hanna Olin, the design firm responsible for BP's redesign.
In the mid-1930s the NYPL established an outdoor reading room and called it the Bryant Park Library at Central Building. Much like our current reading room, patrons could enjoy books, magazines and newspapers outside in the park. The 1930s reading room was located on the Upper Terrace, just behind the main library building, and staff librarians were on hand to assist patrons.
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In 1919 the central branch of the NYPL served as a backdrop for the WWI victory parade along Fifth Avenue.
The NYPL opened to the public on May 23, 1911 with an elaborate ceremony presided over by 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft.
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In celebration of its 60th Birthday, King Kong was screened in the park in 1993.
In 1986, kinetic sculptor George Rickey installed six kinetic sculptures in Bryant Park. The exhibit was part of the Artists-in-Residence program sponsored by the Public Art Fund, Bryant Park Corporation (then, Bryant Park Restoration Corporation), and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. The installation began on June 25, 1986.
The Lowell fountain seen here in it's first location at the east end of the park, just behind the NYPL, 1922. Photo: NYC Transit Museum
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Bryant Park Corporation (then, Bryant Park Restoration Corporation) installed a very colorful Alexander Calder mobile on the lawn in 1993 entitled Big Crinkly
As part of the Academy of American Poets program Poets in the Parks, American modernist poet Marianne Moore drew a large crowd with her 1968 Bryant Park appearance.
Bryant Park, seen from the elevated Sixth Avenue train facing east, 1936. Postcard: BPC
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This photo, taken by friend and surrealist photographer Man Ray, shows Jo Davidson working in his Paris studio, with his subject Gertrude Stein looking on.
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The Latting Observatory, a 315-foot tall iron and wood tower opened on July 1, 1853 on West 43rd Street as part of the Crystal Palace exhibition.
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