New York Public Library dedicated on this day in 1911

(via History and Piktochart) In a ceremony presided over by President William Howard Taft, the New York Public Library, the largest marble structure ever constructed in the United States, is dedicated in New York City on May 23, 1911. Occupying a two-block section of Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, the monumental beaux-arts structure took 14 years to complete at a cost of $9 million. Here are some fun facts about the New York Public Library.