Rochester, NY Public Library, Rundel Memorial Building
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garmin_geek
N 43° 09.264 W 077° 36.481
18T E 287952 N 4781262
"Education is more than preparation for life, it is life itself"
Waymark Code: WMBKZ9
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 05/31/2011
Views: 10
"Constructed of North Carolina granite and Indiana limestone the building measures 213 by 128 feet. It has three floors, a basement and a sub-basement. Its foundation was built over the Rochester Subway (which operated in the former Erie Canal bed from 1927 – 1956) and the Johnson & Seymour millrace (which was built in the early 1800s as a source of waterpower for area mills). The arched openings in the base of the library serve as spillways through which water from the millrace flows into the Genesee River...
The cornerstone for the building (which reads 1934) was laid on June 15, 1935 in a ceremony officiated by Mayor Charles Stanton. An estimated crowd of 1,000 attended the event. A special box was placed in the cornerstone containing such items as historical books about Rochester, photos of people and places associated with the library, newspapers and other records of the city...
Morton W. Rundel’s Gift:
While the Central Library in the old tobacco factory proved more suitable than expected, the construction of a new building was still in the works. Little notice was taken in 1911 when a Rochesterian named Morton W. Rundel died. However, people soon knew of the name Rundel when it was discovered he bequeathed $400,000 to the city for a library and fine arts building." (
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