New York Public Library

The New York Public Library Main Branch has held Fifth Avenue at 42nd since 1911 — Patience and Fortitude on the steps, the Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor, the Treasures Gallery with the Gutenberg Bible and the original Winnie-the-Pooh. The format is the most architecturally complete free public building in midtown.

Walk in at the late morning, take the Rose Main Reading Room before the noon shift, finish at the Treasures Gallery. The address is the right answer for the midtown day that wants the architecture and the rare-book collection in the same hour.

The library the city has kept open.