Chatham Square Library

1903 - present

The Chatham Square Library, completed in 1903, was the first of twelve Carnegie-funded libraries in New York City. Replacing an earlier New York Free Circulating Library branch that had served the neighborhood since 1899, the new building brought a permanent public library presence to the growing immigrant communities of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. The architecture was designed by the firm McKim, Mead & White, and still remains one of the most intact Carnegie library buildings in the city, with much of its original exterior and interior preserved. In 1911, Chatham Square Library became one of the first New York Public Library branches to offer a circulating Chinese-language collection. Today, the library houses the Chinese/Chinatown Heritage Collection on its lower level, a unique resource featuring materials in both English and Chinese that documents the history and culture of Chinese Americans in New York.

Chatham Square, 31-33 E. Broadway, Coming to 'Night Library'
East Broadway near Chatham Square. Carnegie Library. [J. Trumper Furs and Marrus and Walder on either side.]
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Details

Category
Library
Audience
All Ages
Founder(s)
Andrew Carnegie
Corporate Body
New York Public Library
Tags
Asian, Chinese, Community, Immigration

Location

  • 33 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002, USA
    ? - ?

Archival Collections

References

  1. The New York Public Library. “About the Chatham Square Library,” accessed April 26, 2025. https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/chatham-square. Dierickx, Mary.
  2. The Architecture of Literacy, The Carnegie Libraries of New York City. Cooper Union and NYC Department of General Services, 1996.
  3. Lydenberg, Harry Miller. History of the New York Public Library: Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. The New York public library, 1923.