The Main Library, a four-story
Renaissance Revival granite building, is located on Jersey Avenue at Montgomery and Mercer in
Historic Downtown. It is a
contributing property to the state and federal
Van Vorst Park historic district. Following a design competition, the architectural firm of
James Brite and
Henry Bacon was selected and on August 16, 1899, the cornerstone was laid. It was first opened to the public on January 14, 1901. In addition to the main library, the building houses the New Jersey Room, a section dedicated to historical documents about New Jersey, with a focus on Hudson County and Jersey City. The room was created in 1964 to merge the collections of William H. Richardson and the Hudson County Historical Society with the material the library already possessed. The New Jersey Room holds over 20,000 volumes, in addition to historical maps and periodicals. Biblioteca Criolla, the system's Spanish language library, originally opened on Newark Avenue in 1972 but was incorporated into the main library in 2010. An ongoing phased renovation and modernization of the building began in 2014, during which parts of the building were closed. In 2019 the Main Library was dedicated to Priscilla Gardner, who had worked for 50 years for JCFPL. She started as a junior library assistant at the since-closed Claremont Branch in 1969, worked for 30 years at the Miller Branch, and became director in 2002. JerseyCityFreePublicLibrary(postcard 1905).png|Postcard from soon after opening in 1901 JC Main Library.jpg|The Main Library housed the
Jersey City Museum from 1901 to 2010 LeonardJGordonJerseyCityPublicLibrary.jpg|Bust of Dr. Leonard J. Gordon in foyer Van Vorst Park-JC Main Library.jpg|Contributing property to Van Vorst Park historic district ==Branches==