Library Way: The New York City Street Every Bibliophile Must Visit
We get it. It’s disorienting. Those impossibly tall buildings. All those signs and flashing neon lights. Cars honking. People everywhere. It’s so easy to lose your head in the clouds. But do so at your own peril. You may just miss something. There’s treasure here in this city. And sometimes that treasure is right below your feet.
We were reminded of this recently when we were out and about early one Sunday morning. The sun was still in its pre-heat cycle and the previous night’s party-goers were still tucked snugly in their beds sleeping it off. We were walking along East 41st Street in the cool shade, through quiet, nearly empty streets, when we realized we had the perfect opportunity to photograph the sidewalk. That’s because it’s not just a regular, gum-infested New York City sidewalk. This is Library Way.
What is Library Way?
Library Way features a promenade of evenly spaced bronze plaques along 41st Street between Park and Fifth Avenue. The plaques were commissioned in the late 1990s through the cooperation of the Grand Central Partnership (GCP), New York Public Library (NYPL) and the New York City Department of Transportation (just one of NYCDOT’s many wonderful projects). Its dual purpose, ostensibly, was meant to be both a street beautification project and a celebration of the vitality of literature.
Who is the artist behind Library Way?
Ubiquitous New York City-based bronze sculptor, Gregg LeFevre, was tapped for the project. LeFevre has completed over 120 public installations in cities like Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. He received an award for excellence from the Arts Commission of the City of New York for his collaboration with the Grand Central Partnership. Although the plaques were completed in 1998, Mayor Bloomberg didn’t officially name the passageway Library Way until 2003.
How were the Library Way quotes selected?
A distinguished panel of literary experts and librarians were convened by the GCP, NYPL and The New Yorker to select the quotations from literature’s most prominent and enduring works. The plaques are sizable, intricately designed, and contain an incredible variety of texts from some truly noteworthy authors, poets and philosophers. This literary version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame includes superstars like Mark Twain, Albert Camus and Kate Chopin. Strolling down this path is the perfect way to get in the mindset for a day of reading, researching, or writing.
The plaques can be found on both the north and south sides of 41st Street, so remember to look out for them when you’re approaching, as well as leaving, the New York Public Library. But should your neck feel fatigued from looking down, casting your gaze upwards won’t disappoint either. Beautiful Art Deco buildings like the Lefcourt Colonial Building line the street. Or pop in to the Library Hotel, which boasts a collection of over 6,000 books -- organized by the Dewey Decimal System, of course.
