Former Huguenot Branch Library

906 Huguenot Avenue | also 5475 Amboy Road | Huguenot | built 1931

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.

1903
A 13-foot-square community library is built near the Huguenot train station, then moved here
Around 1903-05 a small classically styled wooden library, just 13 by 13 feet, was built near the Huguenot railroad station. Soon afterward it was moved to the northeast corner of the Huguenot church's lot at 906 Huguenot Avenue. The church let it operate without rent, and volunteers ran it until 1926, when a paid librarian was hired.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1929
The New York Public Library takes over the building as its smallest branch
Beginning in 1929 the New York Public Library ran the little Huguenot Avenue building as a branch, the smallest in its entire system. The church had let the library use the spot rent-free from the start, and the branch stayed in the building until 1985.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1985
The branch outgrows the tiny building and closes
The library closed as a branch in 1985 because it had outgrown the space. Library staff kept using the building for related work until 1990, when it was emptied. The building is not tied to the history of the congregation, the commission noted, though it stands on the church's lot.
“It continued in operation until 1985, when the library outgrew the space. Library staff members continued to use the building for associated purposes until 1990…”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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