{"nrhp_refnum":"78001881","name":"Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture","other_names":["135th Street Branch Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"103 W. 135th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.814613585000046,"lon":-73.9411123446094,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-09-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Education"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, five-bay cut stone building at 103 West 135th Street in Harlem, New York City, built in 1905 to designs by McKim, Mead, and White as the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library. It now houses the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is nationally significant as a long-standing site for documenting the Black experience. Since World War I the branch has collected materials on Black history, art and literature for Harlem residents and scholars worldwide. The building is also described as a pleasing example of McKim, Mead, and White's Renaissance Revival work.","narrative":"At 103 West 135th Street in Harlem stands a three-story, five-bay cut stone building designed by McKim, Mead, and White and opened in 1905 as the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library. Its Renaissance Revival facade, modeled on an Italian palazzo, has a rusticated lower level, smooth upper floors, a large Palladian window and four pilasters beneath broad eaves. Inside, a fine vestibule and a cast and wrought iron staircase stand out. The building matters mainly for what it holds. As Harlem became a major Black community after 1905, the branch began collecting materials on Black history, art and literature during World War I. A Department of Negro Literature and History opened by 1925, and in 1926 Carnegie Corporation funds bought Arthur Schomburg's collection. Renamed the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 1972, it serves neighborhood residents and scholars. The adjoining Countee Cullen Branch of 1942 is excluded.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1905)","architect_builder":"McKim, Mead, and White","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition, and in museum/educational use; owned by the New York Public Library.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.743767-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/78001881.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001881/87ccf68667-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001881/87ccf68667-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mcmillin24","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYPL_Former_135th_Street_Branch,_Manhattan.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mcmillin24</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYPL_Former_135th_Street_Branch,_Manhattan.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100009934","name":"Central Harlem North Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/central-harlem-north-historic-district-100009934/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319886","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28739775"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/schomburg-center-for-research-in-black-culture-78001881/"}