Downtown Rochester's historic library building, the Rundel Memorial Building, anchors your view. Constructed between 1933 and 1936 as the original downtown site of the Rochester Public Library, it now serves as part of the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, paired with the Bausch & Lomb Public Library Building across the street. The structure was designed by the Rochester firm Gordon & Kaelber and represents an integration of Beaux-Arts planning and massing with Art Deco detailing — look for that disciplined symmetry and those decorative touches.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The building owes its existence to Morton W. Rundel, who died in 1911 and whose will surprised the city with a bequest of $400,000 for the construction of a library and fine arts building. Rundel was an art dealer who had acquired significant wealth through early investments in Eastman Kodak stock.
Delays followed in realizing his gift, and Elizabeth Holmes, a nurse and fellow Spiritualist who befriended Rundel in his final years, received nearly all of his Kodak stock through transfers. Morton W. Rundel's $400,000 bequest built this Beaux-Arts and Art Deco library, standing today across the street from the Bausch & Lomb Public Library Building for you to compare.