The following post is in recognition of 150 years of library service in the Washington Heights neighborhood. Join us for an open house and panel discussion on Saturday, September 29, 2018 , 11 AM-4PM, at the Washington Heights Library, 1000 St. Nicholas Avenue.

Small, spare beginnings

When the first incarnation of the Washington Heights Library opened in September 1868, the surrounding neighborhood was just sparsely populated farmland. Initially a rented space on 159th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the library held a total of 282 books and offered lending privileges to those who could pay a $5 fee. Supported by the largesse of a small group of New Yorkers, this new subscription library also raised revenue by renting its rooms out for community events including dance classes, concerts, and lectures.

The library moved a number of times over the years, occupying rented spaces in the vicinity of Amsterdam (then Tenth) Avenue between 155th and 160th streets. The library moved to 155th and Amsterdam in 1875, and then to 156th and Amsterdam in 1883. The new location was free to all residents over the age of 12, terms that were made possible by the library’s chief benefactor, J. Hood Wright, whose generous contribution of $100 per month helped meet expenses.  

As the library grew—in terms of books and readers—Wright requested the Washington Heights Library change its name to the Washington Heights Free Library, a name made official in 1896. Upon his passing, Mr. Wright bequeathed $100,000 to the library, and the $100 monthly contribution was subsequently continued by his widow.

A growing library on the move

Soon, the expanding needs of the library necessitated a larger and more permanent space, and the trustees found a sufficient site at 156th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. In 1900, the new building opened, and just one year later, the Washington Heights Free Library was incorporated into the New York Library System as its thirteenth branch.

At the time of its inclusion to the newly created system, the Washington Heights Library held more than 18,500 volumes, circulating more than 84,000 books for the years 1900-1901. The Free Library's building still stands today and is currently occupied by a neighborhood church.

In 1914, the Washington Heights Library moved four blocks north to 160th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, its present location. Designed by Carriere and Hastings, the stately four-story brick building was built with the help of funds from Andrew Carnegie.

A cultural center, an influential librarian

During the mid-1950s, the Washington Heights Branch Library was under the supervision of Regina Andrews, an important figure from the Harlem Renaissance. Ms. Andrews was a playwright who had close friendships and associations with many significant thinkers and writers from the time, including W.E.B. DuBois, Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, and Zora Neal Hurston.

Andrew's tenure as a librarian at Washington Heights was as auspicious as her role as a literary and social trailblazer. She developed a weekly series called "Family Night at The Library," which featured visits from professional artists, musicians, academics, and diplomats. Notably, Eleanor Roosevelt came to the Washington Heights Branch Library, as did Langston Hughes, who read his poems there in 1954. Regina Andrews retired from the Library in 1966.

In 2010, the Washington Heights Branch Library closed temporarily for a much-needed renovation of its basement, first floor, and second floor. The Library doors reopened in 2014, an improved branch that includes a glass elevator and beautifully appointed rooms, and provides ample print and electronic resources for its patrons. In 2016, the third floor was also renovated to accommodate young adults, and to add a new Adult Learning Center.
 

References

Whitmire, Ethelene .Regina Anderson Andrews: Harlem Renaissance Librarian. Urbana, Chicago, Springfield: Illinois University Press, 2014. 

Lydenberg, Harry Miller.History of the New York Public Library. New York: Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations,1923.