View source for Macon Library

{{Short description|Branch library of Brooklyn Public Library}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = Macon Library
| image               = Macon-library-brooklyn.jpg
| image_size          = 
| image_alt           = A square two-story brick building stands before a snowy sidewalk against a gray sky.
| image_caption       = Macon Library's front entrance in 2015
| coordinates         = {{coord|40.6830071|-73.9348306|display=inline,title}}
| building_type       = Branch library
| architectural_style = [[Classical Revival architecture|Classical Revival]]
| address             = 361 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn, New York
| start_date          = 1907
| opened_date         = July 15, 1907
| cost                = $93,481 ({{inflation|US-GDP|93481|1907|r=-5|fmt=eq}})
| owner               = [[Brooklyn Public Library]]
| material            = Brick, limestone
| floor_count         = Two
| grounds_area        = {{convert|9000|sqft|m2}}
| architect           = Richard A. Walker
| architecture_firm   = Walker & Morris
| main_contractor     = Daniel Ryan
}}
'''Macon Library''' is a branch of the [[Brooklyn Public Library]], located in the [[Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn|Bedford–Stuyvesant]] neighborhood of [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]]. The branch, opened in 1907, was [[Boroughs of New York City|the borough]]'s eleventh [[Carnegie library]]. Richard A. Walker designed Macon in the  [[Classical Revival architecture|Classical Revival]] style and the library was built from red brick and limestone [[molding (decorative)|trim]] with a slate roof at a cost of $93,481 ({{inflation|US-GDP|93481|1907|r=-5|fmt=eq}}). In the 1940s, 1970s, and 2000s, the library underwent major renovations and repairs. Despite the changes, design elements present at the library's opening remain, including some bookshelves, guardrails, and wood paneling. Macon Library houses the African American Heritage Center.

==History==
Situated in [[Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn]], Macon Library was the eleventh [[Carnegie library]]–libraries built with a donation from businessman and philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]]–to be constructed as part of the Brooklyn Public Library system.<ref name="formally">{{cite news|title=Macon Branch Library Is Formally Opened|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/57649225/?terms=macon|access-date=November 7, 2016|work=[[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|date=July 16, 1907|page=17|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="hdc">{{cite web|title=Brooklyn Carnegie Libraries: Macon Branch|url=http://hdc.org/hdc-across-nyc/brooklyn/brooklyn-carnegie-libraries/macon-branch|publisher=[[Historic Districts Council]]|access-date=November 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916010816/http://hdc.org/hdc-across-nyc/brooklyn/brooklyn-carnegie-libraries/macon-branch|archive-date=September 16, 2016|date=2016}}</ref> Costing $93,481 ($71,481 for the building and its furnishings plus an additional $22,000 for the site), the library was designed by Richard A. Walker of Walker & Morris and built in 1907 on a corner lot at the intersection of Macon Street and Lewis Avenue.<ref name="formally" /><ref name="di" /> The library's construction was conducted by Daniel Ryan of Manhattan. In 1906, the New York City [[New York City Board of Estimate|Board of Estimate]] designated $10,000 for the library's collection. The branch library's opening on July 15, 1907, was attended by 2,000 visitors.<ref name="di" /> Upon its opening, Macon held 10,000 books with the space to expand to 25,000.<ref name="formally" />

The library has undergone a number of repairs and renovations.<ref name="di" /> Between 1948 and 1949, Macon was closed for a repainting, the installation of new windows, the addition of a new heater, and the removal of partitions in its reading areas.<ref name="1949opens">{{cite news|title=Modernized Macon Library Branch Reopens|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52856343|access-date=November 7, 2016|work=[[Brooklyn Eagle]]|date=December 6, 1949|page=8|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Efforts to modernize the library's interior space took place from 1973 to 1977 including an [[HVAC]] upgrade, the construction of an auditorium, and the installation of fluorescent lighting. Around 1996, the library was being rehabilitated once again, with efforts underway to improve library accessibility and the building's air conditioning system, and to install a new roof designed to mimic the original roof. The latter project was headed by the architect Leslie Defer.<ref name="di" /> Macon was again renovated between 2006 and 2008 by Sen Architects. The project was intended to bring the library closer to its original appearance by making HVAC systems less visible and replacing the hanging fluorescent lights with lamps like those in the space when it opened. The renovation also included the addition of the African American Heritage Center.<ref name="hdc" />

The Brooklyn Public Library announced that Macon Library would be one of the first six libraries in its system to receive exterior digital signage, the first upgrade of exterior signage across the Brooklyn system in over two decades. The project, completed in summer 2017, totaled $35,000.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bautista|first1=Camille|title=Macon Library May Be First of Brooklyn Branches to Get Digital Signs|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170313/bed-stuy/brooklyn-public-library-bed-stuy-libraries-lewis-avenue-upgrades-hours|access-date=June 21, 2017|work=[[DNAinfo.com|DNAinfo]]|date=March 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415025416/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170313/bed-stuy/brooklyn-public-library-bed-stuy-libraries-lewis-avenue-upgrades-hours|archive-date=April 15, 2017}}</ref>

==Architecture and features==
Macon Library stands two stories tall and is slightly raised above street level.<ref name="di" /> It occupies the majority of the {{convert|90|by|100|ft|m|adj=on}} lot upon which it is situated.<ref name="formally" /> The building was designed in the Classical Revival architectural style and consists of five [[bay (architecture)|bays]]. While the library was mainly built with red brick, its front entrance is highlighted by a stone border adorned above the front door with a [[Cartouche (design)|cartouche]]. The doors and windows are surrounded by an Indiana limestone [[Molding (decorative)|trim]]. Macon Library is capped with a [[dentil]]lated [[cornice]], below which its windows rest, high on the building's facade.<ref name="di" /> ''[[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]'' singled out Macon as one of Brooklyn's best-lighted libraries in 1907.<ref name="formally" /> Near the front entrance are two pillars that at one time sported lamps. The building is surrounded by an iron fence and topped with a slate roof.<ref name="di">{{cite book|last=Dierickx|first=Mary B.|title=The Architecture of Literacy: The Carnegie Libraries of New York City|publisher=Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and the New York City Department of General Services|location=New York|year=1996|isbn=1-56256-717-9|ref=Dierickx|page=83}}</ref>

Inside, the library is divided into two main spaces: alcoves and larger reading areas. The building's main desk is located in the center-front of the floor plan, while its [[library stack|stacks]] are located in the back, on the first and second floors. On the upper level, the original metal guardrail continues to protect patrons, and the bookcases and wood paneling that was present when Macon opened is also still used. The library's small alcoves contain wooden benches and fireplaces present when the library opened. A series of frescoes and panels with phrases such as {{Smallcaps|Living Brave and Patriotic Men Are Better Than Gold}} and {{Smallcaps|No Gain Without Pains}} were inlaid on the [[fireplace mantel|mantelpieces]] above the fireplaces, but the panels with their verbiages are no longer present.<ref name="formally" /><ref name="di" />

==See also==
* [[List of Brooklyn Public Library branches]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/macon Macon Library] at Brooklyn Public Library
{{Education in Brooklyn}}
{{Libraries in New York City}}

[[Category:1907 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Public Library]]
[[Category:Carnegie libraries in New York City]]
[[Category:Libraries in Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1907]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in New York (state)]]