stanford what?

old stuff, broken stuff, awesome stuff

December, 2005.

Art and Susan Zuckerman feel their way around the dark corners of the Gould Memorial Library. As the building’s historical directors, the Zuckermans know most of what there is to know about the library, but there’s always room for surprises. “It’s kind of like a treasure hunt coming up here,” Art says, walking past the once-grand stacks now filled with discarded newspapers and Gatorade bottles instead of books. He points out where the Tiffany glass windows have been broken, where the pigeons roosted, and where a glass tile is missing in the floor, leaving a square foot gap. “Watch out for that,” he says, indicating the hole. “That’s,” he pauses, “pretty unusual.” But not entirely.
From its cracked tiles to exposed wires, flaking paint to graffiti, the Gould Memorial Library has come a long way since the 1890s, when it was designed by renowned architect Stanford White to resemble the Pantheon in Rome. The Gould was the main library at New York University’s Bronx campus until the campus was sold to the city university in 1973. The library was made a historical landmark in 1981, but has been mostly out of use for several years.
But that could soon change. In 2004, Bronx Community College won a $228,000 Campus Heritage Grant from the Getty Foundation to develop a plan to rehabilitate the Gould and its surrounding complex of buildings, including the Hall of Fame, a collonade filled with bronze busts of “great Americans,” the first of its kind in the country.
But as the planning stage comes to a close, the college is faced with the blessing and burden of the grant and the library: where will it get the money necessary to rehabilitate the building? And if they rebuild it, will anyone come? Or care?
“We asked 80 local history teachers if they knew about it. One knew,” said Art Zuckerman, shaking his head. “If this place was in Manhattan, it would be a mob scene. I don’t think there’s anything else like it in New York.”
“I think it’s Stanford White’s best work,” said Mark Anderson, an architect and the director of historic preservation at Facade Maintenance Design, which fixed some problems at the Gould in the mid 1990s. “Just making it a landmark doesn’t save it. It needs to give back to the college and community too, so they will mutually benefit from its existence.”
But as for the issue of funding, Anderson was less than optimistic. “The price of the work goes up exponentially the longer maintenance items are deferred,” he said. “It’s such a great building. They’re constantly, constantly trying to get funding. But I really don’t know.”
Some officials at the college were reluctant to speculate about what the next step will be. “We’re still figuring that out, it’s inconclusive so far. But if you ask me, I think it will take a lot,” said one official who asked not to be named.
“It would take millions and millions,” said Susan. “Slowly and surely, we’ve gotten some funding. But it’ll take a long time. And, really, we’re not sure it’ll come from anywhere.”
“I can’t believe the potential in this place,” said Art Zuckerman. “I think it’s all a matter of budget.”
The first things to be fixed at the Gould would be the elevator, to make the building handicap-accessible, and to build another exit, as only 75 people can currently be in the building at one time according to safety codes.
“Those are the major things. If they could get that done, maybe they could have fundraising events. It could be self-sustaining,” Susan said.
For now the school is looking toward more unusual sources of income, starting with the film industry. Two months ago, Robert De Niro and Angelina Jolie shot parts of the upcoming film “The Good Shepard” at the library, and other films such as “Sophie’s Choice,” “Kinsey,” and “A Beautiful Mind” have also been shot at the Gould. The Zuckermans are now seeking out photographers who might use the library for photo shoots, and cable networks such as the History and Learning Channel to donate.
“We’re going to start up the Friends of the Library again, and ask NYU alumni,” said Susan.
“They cannot let this place go,” Art added. “Everyone can see the potential value of this building. Every person who comes in reacts the same way: ‘Oh my god,’ they say.”