The Morgan Library & Museum

On the Grid : Morgan Library & Museum

"Pierpoint Morgan's private library (not too shabby, if you ask me), is now a much bigger museum with a gift shop and a delicious restaurant. Most recently expanded by architect Renzo Piano, the complex has a soaring steel and glass central courtyard that plays nicely with the original Italian palazzo style building (designed in 1902 by Charles McKim). Sporting not one, but three Guttenberg bibles, this place is a serious treasure trove of impossibly rare books, manuscripts and drawings." - Marcelo Cardoso

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"The Morgan is like a multi-hyphenate millennial—only instead of actress/model/influencer/whatever, it’s museum/library/landmark/historic site/music venue. Inside the multimillionaire’s personal library, expanded into a must-see museum and cultural space, you'll find rare artifacts, paintings, and books, some dating back to 4000 B.C. that are worth more than your house. In particular the museum is home to one of 23 copies of the original Declaration of Independence; Mozart's handwritten score of the Haffner Symphony; the collected works of African American poet Phillis Wheatley; the only extant manuscript of Milton's Paradise Lost; and Charles Dickens’s manuscript of A Christmas Carol. Swoon." - Andrea Whittle, Charlie Hobbs

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"The Morgan is like a multi-hyphenate millennial—only instead of actress/model/influencer/whatever, it’s museum/library/landmark/historic site/music venue. Inside the multimillionaire’s personal library, expanded into a must-see museum and cultural space, you'll find rare artifacts, paintings, and books, some dating back to 4000 B.C. that are worth more than your house. In particular the museum is home to one of 23 copies of the original Declaration of Independence; Mozart's handwritten score of the Haffner Symphony; the collected works of African American poet Phillis Wheatley; the only extant manuscript of Milton's Paradise Lost; and Charles Dickens’s manuscript of A Christmas Carol. Swoon." - Charlie Hobbs, Alex Erdekian, Melissa Liebling-Goldberg

"JP Morgan's Old-World Library The JP Morgan Library's grand, old-world elegance immediately transports you to turn-of-the-century New York. And at that time, there was almost no one more powerful than financier JP Morgan. He launched U.S. Steel and even served as the unofficial central bank of the U.S. for a time. Though some considered him a national hero, his tight control of banks, corporations and railroads led others to label him one of the original "robber barons." Morgan was an avid collector of art and books with holdings so vast they were housed at multiple locations in New York and England. Eventually, he decided to consolidate his holdings in a huge library next to his mansion in NYC. Designed by renowned architect Charles McKim and completed in 1906, the Italian Renaissance palazzo-style library holds a staggering collection of illuminated books, historical manuscripts, and old master drawings. The library is rightfully considered McKim's masterpiece—a majestic, soaring space which is both intimate and warm. It features 30-foot ceilings, three tiers of bronze and walnut bookcases, stained glass, a huge marble fireplace and grand tapestries. Also visit Mr. Morgan's study, with its red silk damask walls and antique wooden ceiling brought over from Florence . The library is off the typical tourist's radar. Imagine yourself as Morgan in your private quarters, reveling in the power and wealth at your command."

"Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill Kips Bay by Marcelo Cardoso. Pierpoint Morgan's private library (not too shabby, if you ask me), is now a much bigger museum with a gift shop and a delicious restaurant. Most recently expanded by architect Renzo Piano, the complex has a soaring steel and glass central courtyard that plays nicely with the original Italian palazzo style building (designed in 1902 by Charles McKim). Sporting not one, but three Guttenberg bibles, this place is a serious treasure trove of impossibly rare books, manuscripts and drawings."