We stopped by the reopening of the Morgan Library yesterday to check out the blockbuster Renzo Piano renovation. The new space looks great-- particularly the entrance on Madison Avenue (between 36th and 37th), and the towering central court, with its glass windows. The old buildings along 36th Street look pretty much the same, but a second story with galleries has been added above the west-facing one. If you go, be sure to go down to the basement level under the central room-- they've added an astoundingly large auditorium that has to be seen to be believed. One of the guards told us they had to blast solid bedrock out for weeks to create the space.
The library is open until 6pm today, and then Tuesday through Friday until 5pm, and costs $12 for adults. If you don't have time to go up this weekend, check out these links:
Photos of the renovation
Beautiful pix at NYMag
Amy checked out the current shows-- and they're good!
The Times says the renovation is "dazzling" and took some pix
Renzo Piano has the architectural diagrams, including this crazy one showing the auditorium.
Did you visit this weekend? What did you think of the new look?
