Monday, July 19, 2010

☞ REMEMBER: 518 West 125th Street Library



The George Bruce Branch of the New York Public Library at 518 West 125th Street is still standing today but much of its surroundings have changed. The block behind the library, between Broadway and Amsterdam, currently has some major housing projects that replaced one of the original streets in the area. There is a remnant of a small road behind this classic building that was built in 1915 and one can see a blocked up carriage gate out back (lower photo). The little street is probably what's left of Tiemann Place (originally 127th Street) at this section of the city grid. Many of the smaller side streets were wiped out when the big Urban Renewal projects took over in the mid 20th Century so it's quite nice to have a reminder of the past secretly hidden from view. Archival photo courtesy NYPL. Current photo by Ulysses

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