Library Lions
September usually offers the perfect New York City walking weather. So if you’re anyway near Grand Central Station or Times Square, why not stroll over and say hello to Patience and Fortitude?
The front steps of the New York Public Library—dedicated on May 23, 1911—are home to the Big Apple’s most famous lions.
The NYPL explains: “Their nicknames have changed over the decades. First they were called Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after The New York Public Library founders John Jacob Astor and James Lenox. Later, they were known as Lady Astor and Lord Lenox (even though they are both male lions). During the 1930s, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia named them Patience and Fortitude, for the qualities he felt New Yorkers would need to survive the economic depression. These names have stood the test of time: Patience still guards the south side of the Library’s steps and Fortitude sits unwaveringly to the north.”
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