The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in New York, or SNFL for short) is the renovated and expanded New York Public Library branch formerly known as the Mid-Manhattan Library. It is located at the intersection of 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, directly across from the New York Public Library near Bryant Park.
After a $200 million renovation, the library reopened on June 1, 2021, preserving the historic 1914 facade of the former Arnold Constable department store, which was once the oldest department store in the United States.
The architectural project was carried out by the Dutch firm Mecanoo and the American firm Beyer Blinder Belle. They added a striking angular roof with a public terrace, which has become a new visual landmark on Fifth Avenue. This is what I want to tell you about.
The open-air terrace on the seventh floor offers beautiful views of Fifth Avenue, as well as comfortable chairs and tables where you can have a cup of coffee or eat lunch (but you have to bring everything yourself). You can also read a book, have long phone calls with relatives, or use the terrace as an unusual place for meetings or dates.
Stavros Niarchos (1909–1996) was a Greek billionaire and shipping magnate, as well as a well-known rival of his compatriot Aristotle Onassis, whom Jacqueline Kennedy married.
At the same time, the grandson of that same Stavros, Stavros Niarchos III (born in 1985), married Dasha Zhukova, a designer, the founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, and the former wife of Roman Abramovich.
Admission is free: just walk in and take the elevator to the seventh floor.
📍 Address: Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library / 455 5th Ave
🕒 Terrace hours: Monday–Thursday: 8 AM–8 PM, Friday: 8 AM–7 PM, weekends: 10 AM–5 PM. However, it is always best to check the nypl.org website for the latest information.
