What’s Really Hiding Inside New York’s Most Beautiful Building

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The two stone lions outside the New York Public Library don’t introduce themselves. Most people pass them at a jog — heading to Bryant Park, late for a meeting, using the steps as a shortcut. They have no idea they’re walking past one of the most extraordinary buildings in the Western Hemisphere.

Inside, behind the marble columns and the famous facade, the library is hiding things.

Two Lions, Four Names, and a Mayor Who Loved Nicknames

The lions were carved from Tennessee marble in 1911. They were originally named Lady Astor and Lord Lenox — after the two private library collections that merged to create the NYPL.

Then came Fiorello LaGuardia. During the Depression, New York’s most beloved mayor started calling them “Patience” and “Fortitude.” The qualities New Yorkers would need to survive hard times, he said.

The names stuck. Today, Patience sits on the south side, Fortitude on the north. Every Christmas, the library dresses them in garlands. Every spring, local kids convince their parents to pose for photos between their enormous paws.

The Room That Stopped Thomas Edison Cold

Walk inside. Go upstairs. Find the Rose Main Reading Room.

It is 78 feet wide, 297 feet long, and 52 feet tall, with a painted ceiling that looks like it belongs in a Renaissance palazzo. When the library opened in 1911, Thomas Edison reportedly stood speechless in the doorway.

Today, the room seats up to 500 readers at long mahogany tables beneath brass lamps. The silence is the particular kind you can only find in places people have chosen to be quiet for a century. It’s also, by wide consensus, the most beautiful room in New York — and it’s completely free to walk into.

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Seven Floors Beneath Bryant Park

Under the reading room — under Bryant Park itself — runs one of the largest underground library systems in the world. Seven levels of stacks extend 30 feet below street level.

About 55 miles of shelves. Fifty million items. When a reader at one of those long tables upstairs requests a book, a library worker descends into the labyrinth below and retrieves it, often in under 20 minutes. This has been happening since 1911.

The underground system is not open to the public, but you can stand in the reading room and think about what’s moving beneath your feet, which is the next best thing.

The Site’s Previous Life

Before the library, this block held a different kind of monument. The Croton Distributing Reservoir — a massive Egyptian Revival structure — stored the city’s drinking water here for nearly 50 years. It was one of the most striking buildings in 19th-century New York.

The city decommissioned it in 1899. The debate over what to replace it with went on for years. A library won. Construction took 14 years and 15 million bricks. The marble facade — Corinthian columns and carved figures representing Truth, Beauty, Knowledge, and Wisdom — was shipped from quarries in Vermont.

The result opened in 1911 and was immediately considered one of the finest public buildings in America. Like the secrets hidden inside Grand Central Terminal, the library rewards those who slow down and look past the surface.

Hidden Rooms Most Visitors Never Find

Few visitors discover the Map Division on the first floor — 430,000 maps and 20,000 atlases, including hand-drawn charts from the 16th century. It’s one of the finest cartographic collections in the world, and it’s open to anyone who asks.

The Berg Collection holds Virginia Woolf’s personal diaries and a lock of Charlotte Brontë’s hair. The Pforzheimer Collection contains original manuscripts by Shelley, Keats, and Byron. The Photography Collection holds over 500,000 images documenting New York going back to the 1840s.

None of these require a reservation. They don’t require a library card. They just require knowing they exist — which is more than most visitors ever discover. It’s the kind of place that earns its spot on any list of the best free things to do in New York City.

A Living, Breathing Library

The NYPL isn’t a museum piece. On any given afternoon, high school students type college essays at the long tables, researchers examine 19th-century photographs, and tourists who came in looking for the bathroom end up staying for an hour.

Bryant Park stretches behind the back terrace. Chess players and office workers fill it on weekday lunches. In summer, a free outdoor film series runs on the lawn. The combination — hushed archive inside, urban park outside — is the kind of thing that only happens in New York.

The library opened in 1911, a decade before the Chrysler Building’s famous race to claim the Midtown skyline began. It has never closed. The lions have kept watch every single day since.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the New York Public Library free to visit?

Yes, completely free. The main building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street is open to the public at no charge. You can explore the Rose Main Reading Room, exhibitions, and most public halls without a ticket or library card.

What are the best things to see inside the New York Public Library?

The Rose Main Reading Room is the highlight — a 297-foot-long space with a stunning painted ceiling. The Map Division on the first floor is worth seeking out, and the changing exhibitions in the main hall are always worth a look.

What are the New York Public Library lions called?

Patience (south side) and Fortitude (north side), names given by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the Great Depression. They were originally named Lady Astor and Lord Lenox after the library’s founding collections.

What hours is the New York Public Library open?

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue is typically open Tuesday through Saturday. Hours vary seasonally — check the NYPL website before visiting to confirm current times and special exhibition hours.

Can tourists visit the New York Public Library?

Absolutely. It’s one of New York’s most welcoming landmarks. Free guided tours run regularly from the main entrance, covering the Rose Main Reading Room, exhibition spaces, and the building’s extraordinary architectural details.

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