The New York Public Library’s gorgeous Rose Reading Room has reopened to the public after two years

After a $12 million dollar, two-year renovation, the stunning Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library is once again open to the public. 

The reading room, along with the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room, both reopened to the public at 10am yesterday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the South Hall. 

The monumental public space was closed two years ago, after a piece of ornamental plaster fell from the reading room’s 52-foot high ceiling. During the renovation, the library reinforced all 900 plaster elements in both rooms with steel cables and restored the room’s chandeliers, including putting in LED lights. 

Oh, and they also installed a pretty baller book train.

Check out photos of the restored space, and a cool time lapse of the books returning to their rightful home, below.

Photograph: Courtesy Max Touhey Photography

Photograph: Courtesy Max Touhey Photography

Photograph: Courtesy Max Touhey Photography