chief architect library where is hose bib

Read More: Here's How To Get To The Old 1800s Reservoir From Inside The NYPL In 1899, the reservoir was no longer in use, and demolition began to make way for the construction of the Library.

During the 1850s, this included an unbeatable glimpse of the Crystal Palace, constructed next door in modern-day Bryant Park for the 1853 World’s Fair. Its monumental, imposing facade was decorated in the Egyptian Revival style popular at the time, and topped with a public promenade that afforded sweeping views of the city. A notable member of the engineering team was architect James Renwick, who would go on to design New York’s Grace Church and St. The Croton Distributing Reservoir itself was constructed of granite walls over 44 feet in height that could hold 20 million gallons of water. The occasion was feted with fireworks, a parade, a hundred-gun salute, and a city-wide holiday, allowing the public to gather and sing the newly-penned “ Croton Ode.” The city celebrated the completion of the public works project on October 14th of that year, when Croton River water spouted from the fountain in City Hall Park. Read More: Midtown Was Once Home To A Reservoir, 'With Moonlight Dancing On The Water'Ĭonstruction of the Croton water system began in 1837, and the first drops of water entered the Croton Distributing Reservoir on July 4th, 1842. Once in the city, water first visited a receiving reservoir-located at what is now the Central Park Great Lawn-before arriving at the Croton Distributing Reservoir, also known as the Murray Hill Reservoir, where it was distributed to city residents through a 170-mile network of pipes. What emerged was an engineering feat: from a newly-constructed dam on the Croton River in Westchester County, water traveled along 40 miles of aqueducts.

During the early 19th century, New York City’s existing water supply was not clean, reliable, or large enough for the drinking and firefighting needs of a rapidly growing city. Before providing the foundations for The New York Public Library, the land at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue served another crucial civic purpose, as the site of a reservoir and a key point in the city’s water distribution system.

Chief architect library where is hose bib