Old York Library

This collection of photographs, maps, newspapers, books, and New York City memorabilia became a lifelong passion of Seymour Durst. Sparked by a German photobook on New York that he purchased while vacationing in Paris, Durst eventually assembled a stunning collection of materials that tell the story of New York. By the time of his death in 1995, his beloved Old York Library had taken over virtually his entire five-story townhouse. Today, the collection lives on as the Seymour B. Durst Old York Library Collection at the Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library at Columbia University.