• Location: United States, New York, Staten Island
• Mood: content

The General Society Library Tour

About a month ago, I received a letter in the mail from the New York City Landmarks Conservancy asking me to join as a member. Not entirely sure where they got my name from, but I will guess it came from one of my free memberships that I got with my IDNYC card. Nevertheless, I figured I would try it out. Since joining, I have gone to two events. One, at the National Arts Club, was a slide show presentation about Gramercy Park and the buildings that surround it. And the second one was today: a tour of the General Society Library.

I had passed that building quite a few times on my walk to work from Grand Central and had always wanted to go in. Today was my chance, and it was quite fun:



This is the original skylight that is almost completely restored:


On the second floor is this really interesting umbrella holder:


Members of the Society built the original WTC, and they also rebuilt it. Here are some pieces that are now part of their museum:


The sixth floor is home to the ICAA Plaster Cast Gallery, which is free to the public, by appointment. All these plaster casts were donated from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and they are used by architects and designers who wish to learn how to recreate classic pieces: