NY Public Library Reopens Famous Rooms after Restoration

Two majestic interiors of New York City's main public library have reopened after more than two years of repairs and conservation.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday for the library's massive Rose Main Reading Room and The Bill Blass Public Catalog Room.

The rooms in the library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building were closed in May 2014.

A 16½-pound plaster rosette dropped from the reading room's ornate ceiling. That prompted an inspection of the catalog room next door. Its century-old ceiling mural was found to have extensive damage.

Tiffany Studios designer James Wall Finn created cloudscapes on the rooms' ceilings in 1911, the year the Beaux Arts-style library opened.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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