January 27th, 2012 at 12:16PM
NYPL’s Ottendorfer Library opened in 1884 as NYC’s first free public library. The landmark library is one of the oldest in the system.  Designed by German-born architect William Schickel, this landmark building combines Queen Anne and neo-Italian Renaissance styles with an exterior ornamented by innovative terracotta putti. The Branch was a gift of Oswald Ottendorfer, owner of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung. At the time, the neighborhood was called Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) and had a population of over 150,000 people of German descent. Ottendorfer wished to provide this community with books to cultivate their minds and assist assimilation into American culture. … the branch continues to reflect its community and remains a vital educational and cultural resource for the East Village today. NYPL on 4sq (top photo via German Traces NYC)

NYPL’s Ottendorfer Library opened in 1884 as NYC’s first free public library. The landmark library is one of the oldest in the system. 

Designed by German-born architect William Schickel, this landmark building combines Queen Anne and neo-Italian Renaissance styles with an exterior ornamented by innovative terracotta putti. The Branch was a gift of Oswald Ottendorfer, owner of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung. At the time, the neighborhood was called Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) and had a population of over 150,000 people of German descent. Ottendorfer wished to provide this community with books to cultivate their minds and assist assimilation into American culture. … the branch continues to reflect its community and remains a vital educational and cultural resource for the East Village today.
NYPL on 4sq

(top photo via German Traces NYC)

  1. esquared posted this
10 notes Source: nypl.org #EV#East Village#NYPL#Ottendorfer Library#no scary sadshaws or d-bags here though they are welcome
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