🏢 Brooklyn Public Library — Brooklyn, New York

Leonard Library

A 1908 William Tubby Carnegie branch on a quiet Williamsburg block, and the very library young Francie visits in Betty Smith's 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.'

📖 About Leonard Library

The Leonard Library opened on December 1, 1908, at the corner of Devoe and Leonard streets, one of Brooklyn's original Carnegie branches built under Andrew Carnegie's 1901 pledge to fund free libraries across the borough. The single-story building was designed by architect William B. Tubby and offers close to 10,000 square feet of public space; its Classical Revival facade is laid in red brick in an English-bond pattern with stone trim and a slate roof, distinguished by a projecting central entrance with an ornate keystone and a flat pediment carried on scrolled brackets. The branch's site was purchased in 1906 for $27,500, and construction and equipment cost roughly $56,765. Leonard is celebrated as the library that Francie Nolan visits in Betty Smith's classic novel 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,' set in the surrounding Williamsburg neighborhood. After closing at the end of 2022 for infrastructure work, including a new HVAC system, a new ceiling, and a reconfigured backyard, the branch reopened on August 5, 2025, and continues as a beloved neighborhood outpost of the Brooklyn Public Library.

⭐ What makes this branch special

• Opened December 1, 1908; designed by architect William B. Tubby
• The library Francie visits in 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith
• Red-brick English-bond Carnegie facade with an ornate keystone and scrolled pediment
• Reopened August 5, 2025 after a renovation adding new HVAC, ceiling, and backyard

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