Identifier: millersnewyorkas00durs (find matches)
Title: Miller's New York as it is, or, Stranger's guide-book to the cities of New York, Brooklyn and adjacent places : comprising notices of every object of interest to strangers ; including public buildings, churches, hotels, places of amusement, literary institutions, etc
Year: 1876 (1870s)
Authors: Durst, Seymour B., 1913- former owner. NNC
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : J. Miller
Contributing Library: Columbia University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: The Durst Organization

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l the public institutions of the city, including Ran-dalls, Wards, and BlackwelPs Islands. Any person de-sirous of visiting any or all of these places, can obtainpermits at this omce. . LITERARY & SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. . THE ASTOR LIBRARY, Situated on Lafayette Place, near Astor Place, is justlyregarded as the library collection of the continent. Itsliterary treasures comprise some of the rarest and mostvaluable productions of art extant. Dr. Cogswell, thelearned Librarian, has collected from all parts of the oldworld a vast accumulation of costly works in all de-partments of human knowledge ; including about 1000bibliographical books, and numerous superbly illustrat-ed works of great rarity and value, on almost all sub-jects—science, history, biography, philology, &c, &c.It already contains over 100,000 volumes, and furtheradditions are constantly being made to this collectionby the munificence of its founder, John Jacob Astorwho endowed it with the sura of $400,000.
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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. 55 This stately edifice, built of brick, ornamented withbrown stone, is of the Romanesque style, and of greatsymmetrical beauty. Its interior, however, is muchmore imposing. The entrance to the Library Hall isby a flight of 38 marble steps leading to the secondstory. This splendid hall is richly decorated with 14piers finished in imitation of Italian marble, and overthese are galleries ranged on either side, inclosed withgilt iron railings. These upper galleries are reached byeight spiral stairways. The height of the Library isnear 50 feet, and in the centre of the ceiling is a largeskylight, measuring 54 feet by 14, and at each sidesmaller lights ; there are no other windows, these how-ever afford sufficient light for the building. In the eastend are inclosures railed in, and the Librarians rooms.In the lower, or first floor, are the Lecture room andReading rooms. The floors are of mosaic work. Avisit to this noble institution, with its rich and

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