After-Hours Tour of the Morgan Library

All Photos Courtesy of the Morgan Library

Explore highlights of the historic Morgan Library and Museum, an NYC institution celebrating its 100th anniversary this year!

  • Step inside the former personal library of financier J.P. Morgan
  • See rare books and artifacts from the library’s permanent collection on display
  • Decode symbols in the art and learn about a secret staircase hidden among the stacks inside the spectacular library
  • Peek into the safe inside J.P. Morgan’s study

About the event:

Morgan Library & Museum began as the personal library of financier, collector, and cultural benefactor Pierpont Morgan. Mr. Morgan’s library, as it was known in his lifetime, was built between 1902 and 1906 adjacent to his New York residence at Madison Avenue and 36th Street. Designed by Charles McKim of the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, the library was intended as something more than a repository of rare materials. Majestic in appearance yet intimate in scale, the structure was to reflect the nature and stature of its holdings.

In 1924, eleven years after Pierpont Morgan’s death, his son, J. P. Morgan, Jr. (1867–1943), known as Jack, realized that the library had become too important to remain in private hands. In what constituted one of the most momentous cultural gifts in U.S. history, he fulfilled his father’s dream of making the library and its treasures available to scholars and the public alike by transforming it into a public institution.

Over the years—through purchases and generous gifts—The Morgan Library & Museum has continued to acquire rare materials as well as important music manuscripts, early children’s books, Americana, and materials from the twentieth century. Without losing its decidedly domestic feeling, the Morgan also has expanded its physical space considerably.

On this docent-led tour, you’ll get a sweeping introduction to J. Pierpont Morgan’s Library and the Morgan campus. Inside, guests will see highlights from the permanent collection, learn about the hidden symbols on the ceiling, hear of a secret passageway, and more! 

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