Ready To Don Your Party Hat? Help BPL’s Central Library Celebrate Its 75th Birthday On Saturday

One of the borough’s literary and architectural jewels is hitting a major milestone Saturday — and looking elegant and majestic while doing so.

Brooklyn Public Library’s iconic Central Library is about to turn 75, and everyone is invited to come out for the celebration.

Central Library’s “art deco façade, sweeping grand lobby and vast contemporary and historical collections, has been welcoming in Brooklynites for the better part of a century,” says a statement from BPL. “To celebrate we’ll be displaying historical photos of the branches’ development, offering tours throughout the day (including of parts of the library typically off-limits, like the basement, which may at one point have once been part of an abandoned train station) and helping patrons pick a great back-to-school book on the plaza.”

On-hand for the festivities will be photographer Elizabeth Felicella, Architecture Historian Francis Morrone, local artist and illustrator Pat Cummings, and Borough President Eric Adams.

A list of events on Saturday, September 10 at Central Library is available here:

9am-11 am: Solo harp with Brandee Younger (Grand Lobby)
Brandee Younger has become a harpist of rare prominence in jazz, building on an African-American legacy largely defined by Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.

10am-12 pm: Business & Career Center Quiz and Raffle (Balcony Conference Room)
Central Library’s newest space, the Business & Career Center (B&CC), will host a quiz including questions about Central Library, work and business in Brooklyn over the last 75 years. Attendees will also receive an introduction to B&CC services and be entered into a raffle.

12pm-2pm: Communal Table (Plaza)
Enjoy treats from 4 & 20 Blackbirds, Union Market, Lassen & Hennigs, ITO EN, and Baked in Brooklyn while browsing a librarian-curated selection of books.

1pm-2pm: Creative Arts Workshop (Youth Wing)
Create a project to celebrate the Central Library’s 75th anniversary with award-winning artist and illustrator Pat Cummings.

1pm-5:30pm: A Visual History of Central in Brooklyn Collection (Brooklyn Collection)
Historic photographs, ephemera, and scrapbooks showing the story of Central Library’s construction and activity within the building since then.

3:15pm: Proclamation from the Office of Borough President Eric Adams (Info Commons Lab)
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams presents Brooklyn Public Library president and CEO Linda E. Johnson with the Central Library 75th Birthday Celebration Official Proclamation.

3:30pm: Central at 75: Elizabeth Felicella in conversation with Francis Morrone (Info Commons Lab)
Photographer Elizabeth Felicella and architecture historian Francis Morrone discuss the aesthetics and history of Central Library as well as the varied architecture across Brooklyn’s 60 neighborhood branches. Photographs from Felicella’s massive project documenting all libraries across New York City will be featured.

Building Tours every hour from 10am-2pm.
Meet at the Welcome Desk in the Grand Lobby. Tours involve climbing and descending stairs. We can only accommodate up to 15 participants per tour.

View some other photos from BPL’s collection of Central Library’s construction: