Woodstock Library

761 East 160th Street | Melrose | built 1914

Open on the map4 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1912

    March

    The library shifts its Woodstock branch to a mid-block site on East 160th Street

    The New York Public Library first eyed the northeast corner of Prospect Avenue and East 163rd Street for its Woodstock branch, as early as 1908. By 1912 the city had instead taken title to this side-street lot, bought for $14,000, and demolition began in March 1912. The E.E. Paul Company put up a steel-frame building for $116,000, about $2,000 under the estimate.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1914

    February 17

    The Woodstock Branch opens with 11,000 books and music from the Music School Settlement

    The Woodstock Branch opened its doors on February 17, 1914, stocked with 11,000 books. It was the Bronx's seventh Carnegie branch, following Mott Haven, Kingsbridge, Tremont, High Bridge, Morrisania and Melrose. Representatives of the Board of Education and the library gave speeches at the ceremony, and the Music School Settlement supplied the music.

    “…the Woodstock Branch opened on February 17, 1914 with 11,000 books on its shelves.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1967

    A city renovation seals the library's fanlights and adds an elevator

    The branch closed in 1967 for a major renovation by the Department of Public Works, which cleaned and repointed the limestone front, replaced windows and added air conditioning and an elevator. The fanlights over the first-story openings and the upper windows in the left bay were sealed, and a new entrance vestibule was built inside.

    “In 1967 the library was closed for major renovations carried out by the Department of Public Works.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1975

    A budget cut closes the Woodstock Branch's children's reading room

    Budget cuts in the 1970s brought the branch reduced or irregular hours and fewer services. The second-floor children's reading room was shut after a 1975 cut and was still closed when the building was designated a landmark, while the third floor and basement sat unused for lack of maintenance. The renovation then under way planned to reopen both upper floors.

    “The second floor, originally used as the children's reading room, has been closed since a budget cut in 1975…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 9 buildings with stories in Melrose