Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
New York, NY
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (formerly the West 135th Street Branch Library) is one of eleven neo-Classical style libraries designed by Charles McKim, of McKim Mead & White for the NYC Public Library system under a grant from philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Constructed between 1904 and 1905, the three-story limestone and brick building features a rusticated ground floor, a central Palladian window, monumental pilasters, and a modillioned overhanging cornice with a clay tile roof.
Li/Saltzman Architects served as Historic Preservation Architect to Marble Fairbanks Architects. LSA assisted Marble Fairbanks in developing a restoration scope of work, including removing vegetative growth, repointing limestone and brick façades, performing masonry brick and stone repair, copper cornice repair, tile roof repair or replacement, wood window repair, and wood door repair. All work was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The project was completed in 2017.
Designation: NYC Individual Landmark; listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places
