Extracted from Party Of One: New York, buy yours here.

Time evaporates in these beautiful surroundings. Completed in 1911, this is truly a palace of knowledge and learning, with long marble corridors, murals, chandeliers and a world-class archive. To better appreciate the NYPL’s architecture, audio tours are available. Or settle down in the DeWitt Wallace room, selecting from 200 current magazines and 22 US and foreign newspapers. Homesick Englishmen are advised to avoid the Children’s Center, where the stuffed toys that inspired the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Eeyore and Tigger reside in permanent exile.