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The New York Public Library is one of the most famous architectural structures in New York City. Its beautiful Beaux Arts design and marble colonnade distinguish it from the surrounding skyscrapers and professional buildings as a National Historic Landmark.
Besides the notable design of the building, the library is known among New Yorkers for the pair of imposing marble lions, each marking a side of the 5th Avenue entrance. Named Patience and Fortitude by former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, the statues create the second most famous New York pun: "I'm going to the library to read between the lions." (To find out the most famous pun, ask any native New Yorker how to get to Carnegie Hall).
Besides being a remarkable architectural landmark, the New York Public Library is also a renowned research library. When it was originally constructed in 1911, the library housed the collections of the Lenox Library and the Astor Library. Today, it has grown to contain more than six million books, 12 million periodicals, and almost three million pictures.
Free tours are available Tuesday through Saturday at 11am and 2pm. Visitors must sign up in advance for the one-hour tours at the information desk (call 212-930-0501 for more information). There is no standard tour, but most docents will bring you through Astor Hall, the beautiful main entrance to the library and the DeWitt Wallace Periodicals room, with its mural celebrating New York's role in publishing. Don't miss the Main Reading Room; its oak tables with brass fixtures create perfect reading spots within the cavernous area.
The library has several exhibition areas and galleries that house a mixture of permanent and temporary displays. Two of the most notable items in its permanent collection are Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington and Charles Dicken's desk.
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