The eagle sculpture in the lobby of the Brooklyn Public Library central branch officially has a name: Ingersoll.
The Brooklyn Public Library announced the naming contest back in October, asking residents for suggestions on what to call the 6-foot-tall eagle sculpture which sits in the lobby of the Central Library.
The eagle sculpture, which is cast in copper,was a gift to the Brooklyn Public Library from the Brooklyn Historical Society. It originally came from the headquarters of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper, which operated from 1841 to 1955, and was briefly revived from 1960 to 1963.
People from Brooklyn and as far as Los Angeles and Montreal submitted more than 300 name suggestions for the sculpture through the contest. The winning name pays tribute to Raymond Ingersoll.
Brooklyn Public Library eagle: Who is Raymond Ingersoll?
Raymond Ingersoll was Brooklyn Borough President from 1934 to 1940 and before that, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner from 1914 to 1917.
Ingersoll advocated for the building of the Central Library, changing the design of the branch to something more modern and pushing forward with construction after it was halted because of financial strains during World War I and the Great Depression.
The Brooklyn Public Library central branch opened on Feb. 1, 1941, and the exterior received landmark status designation in 1997.
Brooklyn Public Library, 1943. Getty Images
“I join the Brooklyn Public Library in celebrating the homecoming of the majestic eagle named after Raymond Ingersoll,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams said in a statement. “Its final home permanently perched within the historic and iconic Central Library at Grand Army Plaza is a wonderful tribute to a man who left a lasting legacy in the County of Kings by fighting for our libraries, parks, and a better borough.”
