Designed by Raymond F. Almirall, the Eastern Parkway Library branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is a 1914 Beaux Arts building constructed as part of industrialist Andrew Carnegie’s gift of $5.2 million to New York City for the construction of a comprehensive branch library system in the five boroughs. The Library is located at the corner of Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Because of the library’s location on Eastern Parkway, a designated New York City Scenic Landmark, any rehabilitative work on the building is subject to review by the New York City Public Design Commission (PDC).

The project involved a complete interior and exterior renovation of the building, as well as the design of a potential new addition to bring the library to 21st century standards and provide space for contemporary program needs. BCA was the historic preservation consultant for the PDC approval and the exterior restoration design, which includes restoring the original wood windows and retrofitting them with new Insulating Glass Units (IGU) to improve thermal efficiency and exterior masonry restoration. BCA performed archival research on the architectural history of the building; performed preservation design review of the proposed Schematic Design for the new addition; and created restoration construction documents.