{"nrhp_refnum":"81000410","name":"New York Public Library, Hamilton Grange Branch","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"503 and 505 W. 145th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.82563027700007,"lon":-73.94794745599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-07-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story public library branch building at 503-505 West 145th Street in Manhattan, built in 1905-1906 and designed by McKim, Mead and White in an Italian Renaissance style resembling a Florentine palazzo.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of McKim, Mead and White's Italian Renaissance work, with carefully controlled detail and a symmetrical yet dynamic facade. It is one of eleven branch libraries the firm designed for the New York Public Library. Its construction was also tied to Andrew Carnegie's gift funding the city's branch library system.","narrative":"Built in 1905-1906 on the north side of West 145th Street in Manhattan, the Hamilton Grange Branch is a library designed by McKim, Mead and White in the Italian Renaissance manner, with the look of a Florentine palazzo. Its facade grades the openings from large round-arched windows and door at the ground floor to pedimented rectangular windows above, while heavy rustication anchors the base. A central keystone carries the seal of New York City, and a fleur-de-lis frieze bears the library's name. The building was one of eleven branch libraries the firm designed for the New York Public Library between 1902 and 1914, each a variation on a common plan. It was among sixty-five branches funded by Andrew Carnegie's $5,000,000 gift. The interior was gutted and rebuilt in 1973-1976, and a rear reference wing was added, so no historic interior features remain. The library has stayed a stable presence as the neighborhood changed from middle-class residential to a lower-income, multi-racial community.","period_of_significance":"1905-1906","architect_builder":"McKim, Mead and White","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance (Florentine palazzo character)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and publicly owned, used as a library. The interior was completely rebuilt in 1973 and the library reopened June 16, 1976; a non-historic rear wing was added in 1973.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.317389-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/81000410.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000410/125b585583-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000410/125b585583-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYPL_Hamilton_Grange_jeh.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYPL_Hamilton_Grange_jeh.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100008341","name":"West Harlem Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/west-harlem-historic-district-100008341/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319780","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Grange_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7013883"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/new-york-public-library-hamilton-grange-branch-81000410/"}