The Morgan Library is not really a library in any sense of the contemporary word, at least not in America. It is, for lack of a better term, an “old money” library, the kind that involves rich woods and stained glass and private reading spaces for scholarly men of past centuries. It feels closer to the set for Beauty and the Beast than it does your local public library. But lucky us, this once private collection is open to the public to enjoy.

The Morgan Library is, fundamentally, a mansion in the middle of Manhattan. A refined preservation of the American Age of Elegance amid the chaos of midtown. They don’t build houses like they used to anymore, and as a museum, it offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the history of the city and the names that still run this town. The library was built by financier J.P. Morgan in 1906. Once was a private collection, it’s been open to the public since 1924.