Preservationists push to landmark NYPL’s Rose Main Reading Room

The New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room
The New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room

After a one-foot wide slab of plaster fell from the ceiling, officials were forced to close the New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room. It’s since reopened, but now preservationists are calling for landmark status before the next incident.

Currently, there are just 119 interior landmarks in New York City, but state senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Kreuger would like to change that, according to DNAinfo.

The senators asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider the New York Public Library’s newly renovated Rose Main Reading Room and Bill Blass Catalog Room for designation. The two rooms recently reopened after closing for a two-year restoration.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“We must now recognize the Rose Main Reading Room and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room as the historic interior spaces that our city has come to treasure in our beloved library,” they wrote in a letter to the LPC.

And while some building owners shudder at landmark status, the NYPL tells DNAinfo that it is open to the idea.

“These spaces have always been treated with the dignity, respect and care that they deserve, and in that spirit, we look forward to the public landmarking process and continuing conversations with the Landmarks Preservation Commission,” the library said in a statement. [DNAinfo]Christopher Cameron