The Gould Memorial Library (GML; also nicknamed Gould) is a building on the campus of the Bronx Community College (BCC), an institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), in University Heights, Bronx, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Stanford White of the firm McKim, Mead & White. Constructed between 1895 and 1900 as the central library of New York University (NYU)'s Bronx campus, it was part of the New York University Libraries system. The library is named after railroad magnate Jay Gould, whose daughter Helen Miller Shepard funded the project in his memory. Gould is no longer used as a library, instead serving primarily as an event space. Gould's facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks, and it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gould is arranged in the shape of a Greek cross and is surrounded by the Hall of Fame for Great Americans to its west. The library's main entrance is on the east side, where there is a portico with a Corinthian-style colonnade. The copper dome contains an ornamental frieze as well as an oculus at its center. Inside the entrance vestibule, a barrel-vaulted stair hall leads up to offices and a circular reading room. The ornately designed reading room contains two colonnades flanking two balcony levels; multiple Tiffany glass windows; a balustrade with sixteen statues; and a coffered ceiling. Originally, the reading room was surrounded by three levels of stacks and 18 seminar rooms. Under the library was a 600-seat auditorium.
New York University's Bronx campus was developed in the 1890s. Construction on the library started in 1895 after Shepard anonymously donated $200,000. During the 20th century, NYU used the library for commencement ceremonies and other events. The university installed numerous busts of artists inside the library during the 1920s and 1930s. NYU built additional campus libraries in the 1950s due to a lack of space at Gould, and the auditorium was rebuilt after an arson attack in 1969. After NYU sold its Bronx campus to CUNY in 1973, the Gould Library was converted into an event space, and the library fell into disrepair. The auditorium was restored in 2000, and the library was further refurbished in the early 21st century.
Site
The Gould Memorial Library is on a high plateau in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. The plateau is above sea level and overlooks the Harlem River immediately to the west. When Gould was built, the plateau had views of the Palisades to the west, Spuyten Duyvil to the north, Long Island to the east, and the South Bronx to the south. The modern site overlooks the Major Deegan Expressway, the Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line, and the Harlem River to the west. Gould was originally part of New York University (NYU)'s campus. Since 1973, Gould has been part of the Bronx Community College (BCC), operated by the City University of New York (CUNY). The library occupies a land lot whose official address is 1930 Sedgwick Avenue.
The library is flanked by the Hall of Languages to the south and the Hall of Philosophy to the north. The three buildings are placed at the top of the plateau. The building is about above Sedgwick Avenue, which runs directly to the west. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans runs to the west of the Gould Memorial Library, Hall of Languages, and Hall of Philosophy. The Hall of Fame, composed of a stone colonnade as well as a brick walkway, contains bronze portrait busts of prominent Americans. The Hall of Fame was designed to conceal the Gould Memorial Library's foundation. The portion of the colonnade next to the library is circular in plan. West of the Hall of Fame is a fountain facing Sedgwick Avenue. To the east, a promenade cuts across BCC's quad. The promenade originally extended to Ohio Field, but a student center was built between the library and Ohio Field in 1953.
Architecture
The Gould Memorial Library was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White and was built between 1895 and 1898 as part of the New York University Libraries system. It was the centerpiece of NYU's Bronx campus. Since 1973, it has been part of the BCC campus. Gould no longer serves as the campus library; it has been superseded by the Bronx Community College Library, which opened in 2012.