29 E. 36th Street on Madison Avenue
(212) 685-0008
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The Morgan Library is one of
the lesser-known treasures of New York. started as a private
collection of rare manuscripts, drawings and prints belonging to
Pierpont Morgan, legendary financier and cultural benefactor.
Today, it is a world-renown research library and outstanding
collection of art and rare books, manuscripts and drawings.
The Morgan Library was built
between 1902 and 1906, adjacent to Morgan’s private home at
Madison Avenue and 36th street. Built to resemble an
Italian Renaissance palazzo, it’s grand rooms convey a sense of
majesty and provide an appropriate setting for the treasures
within. Once called "one of the seven wonders of the
Edwardian World", the Morgan Library is considered one of the
crowning achievements of Charles McKim, the famous architect and
designer from the firm of McKim, Mead & White.
In 1924, eleven years after
the death of Pierpont Morgan, his son Jack decided that the
collection was too important to remain a private collection. Since
then , the library has kept it’s doors open to the public and
has continued to expand it’s unique collection.
Inside the museum, you’ll
find some of the most important and rare documents from the Middle
Ages to today. Some of the literary and historical documents
include Charles Dickens's manuscript of A Christmas Carol,
Henry David Thoreau's journals and the manuscripts and letters of
Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln,
John Steinbeck, and Voltaire.
As the collection grew, so
did the need for space. An Annex was soon built on the site of
Pierpont Morgan's brownstone. Completed in 1928, the new space
included a large entrance foyer, a reading room, and an exhibition
hall. The new structure was joined to the original library by
means of a connecting gallery called the Cloister (recently
renamed the Dr. Rudolf J. and Lore Heinemann Gallery). The most
dramatic addition occurred in 1987 when the Library doubled its
size with the acquisition of Jack Morgan's nearby town house. A
garden court was built to connect the house with the Annex and
original library. This expansion, completed in 1991, made way for
both more exhibitions and a wider array of lectures, concerts, and
other educational programs.
