Timelapse: Library's Rose Main Reading Room Opens to Public After Years of Restoration

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — After more than two years of being closed off to the public, two historic rooms of the New York Public Library on 42nd Street were officially re-opened Wednesday morning in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by several local elected officials and members of the community. The Rose Main Reading Room 2.0, and Bill Blass Public Catalog Room 2.0, in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building were made available to bookworms once again after much anticipation.

The renovations were prompted when an ornamental plaster rosette fell from the 52-foot-high ceiling overnight in May 2014, the NYPL said. Several other improvements were made over the past few years to the library, which was built in 1910, including recreating a 27-foot by 33-foot James Wall Finn mural on the ceiling of the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room. That particular mural hadn't been restored in the 1990s like other murals in the Rose Main Reading Room, so it had extensive damage, according to a fine arts conservator.

The result of the $12 million project, completed by Tishman Construction Corporation, was unveiled with several local elected officials in attendance. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, New York City Councilmembers Dan Garodnick and Andy King, New York State Assembly Members Richard Gottfried and Deborah Glick, and New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman all cut the ribbon.

Both rooms are open during the library's regular hours. There are daily tours of the building at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. You can also see a free exhibition of the preservation process on the third floor of the Schwarzman Building called "Preserving a Masterpiece: From Soaring Ceilings to Subterranean Storage" through Oct. 9.

Here are some gorgeous photos of the finished product:

The library released a timelapse video of the books returning to the Rose Main Reading Room:

Photo credit: All photos by Max Touhey Photography