The library's Instagram account shared the top photo yesterday... showing an early look at the crowds gathered after the 1904 opening.
Here's another early look at the building...
Daytonian in Manhattan has an excellent history of the branch from earlier this year:
The library was instantly popular among the locals. Before the doors opened in the mornings lines would form down the block. Finding a chair in the reading rooms was often no easy task, and children and adults alike competed for popular books to read at home.On October 21, 1911, for instance, The Sun noted, "In the Tompkins Square branch of the public library...there are twenty-five copies each of 'Oliver Twist' and 'David Copperfield' on the shelves. No, not on the shelves. For even with these twenty-five copies apiece it is almost impossible to keep one on hand."
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as an individual landmark on May 18, 1999.
Meanwhile, the fifth annual East Village Arts Festival is taking place at the branch through Saturday. Find programming details here. And find more of the library's offerings at this link.
Previously on EV Grieve: