New York Public Library, Hunt’s Point Branch
Completed as Design Team Member at Mitchell Giurgola Architects
Facts & Figures
Public Library
14,782 GSF
14,782 GSF
Bronx, NY
The Preservation of a Civic Ideal
The Hunts Point Branch is a landmark of the Italianate Revival style and a cornerstone of the New York Public Library’s Carnegie legacy. Designed by Carrère and Hastings and completed in 1929, the building is defined by a clear and powerful architectural parti: two grand reading rooms stacked vertically, with ancillary services tucked discreetly to the rear. The project tasked the design team with a delicate balance—preserving the rigorous neoclassical character of a New York City Landmark while fundamentally reimagining its capacity to serve a 21st-century Bronx community.
The exterior restoration is a study in precision and restraint. The masonry facade underwent extensive repair and repointing, while the building's street presence was revitalized through a return to historic double-hung wood windows. A new limestone entrance ramp was introduced, designed with a material sensitivity that integrates seamlessly with the original facade, ensuring the library is fully accessible without compromising its monumental character.
The exterior restoration is a study in precision and restraint. The masonry facade underwent extensive repair and repointing, while the building's street presence was revitalized through a return to historic double-hung wood windows. A new limestone entrance ramp was introduced, designed with a material sensitivity that integrates seamlessly with the original facade, ensuring the library is fully accessible without compromising its monumental character.
Design Team
Inside, the intervention focuses on clarity and material warmth.
The design honors the NYPL’s century-old traditions by utilizing a disciplined palette of white oak for floors, custom bookshelves, and reading furniture. A new, minimalist glass vestibule at the entrance provides a modern thermal threshold while maintaining the visual volume and transparency of the historic space.
Facade Restoration
The restoration replaces a defensive envelope of caged glazing with a transparent window system, shifting the building’s character from closed to inviting. By cleaning the historic masonry and opening the facade, the design restores the library’s original civic dignity and visual permeability within the neighborhood.
Invitations to Linger
In the grand reading rooms, the perimeter is wrapped in traditional wood shelving, punctuated by deep window benches that invite patrons to linger.