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Never in its 110-year history has the New York Public Library been captured in such a dramatic way.
The NYPL released drone footage by Sky Tech One today showing the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street before it swoops inside to its new permanent exhibition, the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures.
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The footage used an FPV drone that captures exterior and interior angles never before seen in the 110-year history of the Library's central building, the NYPL says.
It begins outside the library with close-up shots of the Fifth Avenue facade and one of the famous lions (Fortitude), then flies through the front door, through Astor Hall, into Gottesman Hall, where it showcases the renovated exhibition space and the new exhibition. It ends with a shot of the first printed copy of the Declaration of Independence to feature the signers, printed by Mary Goddard. The footage was shot by pilot Justin Namon, with drone technician Rob McEnaney.
"It was an honor to film the largest and most iconic branch of the NYPL," said Victor Chu, director of the shoot and founder, owner, and executive producer of Sky Tech One. "When we flew, I realized that the building and rooms we were filming had never been filmed like that before. It was such a surreal experience seeing the rows of desks and chairs zoom by and then seeing the view from high above. It was incredible to integrate modern technology and history in this way. It was a dream come true for me, for our pilot, and for the entire team."
Sky Tech One also shot drone footage of the library's central circulating branch across the street — the newly overhauled Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, which opened in June 2021.
A longer version of the film that will include the famous Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor will be released at a later date.
For now, you can get a sneak peek of the new Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures, which features more than 250 items spanning 4,000 years of history with a wide range of history-making pieces, including the only surviving letter from Christoper Columbus announcing his “discovery” of the Americas to King Ferdinand’s court and the first Gutenberg Bible brought over to the Americas.