Columbia College Library, City of New York

The King’s College, founded in 1754, was renamed Columbia College in 1784. Its first own building opened in 1760, near the present City Hall Park. In 1857, the College moved to Midtown Manhattan on the site between Madison and Fourth avenues (now Park Avenue), and 49th and 50th streets.

Engraving shows the library of the Columbia College in 1884. It occupied a central location on the 49th Street side. The library hall (image above, description from the magazine), a room of grand proportions, with a triple arch roof supported by iron truss-work, so that the floor space of 113 feet by 75 feet is unbroken by divisions. The Phœnix collection of above 7000 books occupied the entire south gallery and frequenters of the library had access to to 25,000 volumes shelved as a reference library. The magazine also referred to 40,000 books packed in a low room. The united libraries in 1883 numbered 50,000 volumes.

The system of registry was centered in a desk in the great hall. The conveniences of the library were extended to the 1600 members of the university, its alumni and other scholars who seeks its privileges.