Grolier Club

Grolier Club

Grolier Club
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
Closed
About
Duration: 1-2 hours
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The area

Address
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Combining quiet residential neighborhoods that have easy access to Central Park with world-famous cultural institutions, the Upper East Side is one of the most livable places in the city. Along beautiful Fifth Avenue, you’ll find Museum Mile, which houses many of the nation's most famous attractions in a single stretch, like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum. Walk a few blocks into the neighborhood, and you’ll come to Park Avenue, the poshest address in the city, lined with grand apartment buildings as far as the eye can see. Even if you can’t afford the luxury goods along Madison Avenue, it’s still a great spot to window shop an afternoon away.
How to get there
  • 59th St • 3 min walk
  • Lexington Ave / 59th St • 4 min walk
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles12 reviews
Excellent
5
Very good
6
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0

knowsnyc
890 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
A quiet gem. We always take the 4,5 or 6 subway to 59th St., exit at 60th, and walk almost two blocks west to get here. This is a quiet block of private clubs you cannot enter between Bloomingdale’s and Central Park.

Grolier is one you can enter and it is always free.

The street level has a large gallery. Exhibits change three times per year. Currently, it is about published material for WWII soldiers. This included mini books to fit into uniform pockets, propaganda and more. Fascinating with informative labels.

Upstairs is a smaller gallery (and rest room) about the history of detective books. These came from a private collector.

A unique spot for lovers of books, bookstores, libraries and more.

Elevators available as is an unattended coat room.
Written December 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

journeymaid48
Fairport, NY1,120 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2017 • Friends
We went to see the exhibits of illustrated law books from Yale Law library and the life of Sylvia Plath. Both were absolutely astounding! The best day I have spent at a print exhibit in many years. Well curated and the presentation was remarkable.
Written October 11, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jennifer F
91 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021
The Grolier Club offers a nice respite from the commercial buzz of the city. Exhibitions are informative, well done and engaging. The Grolier is a quiet and very refreshing, intelligent experience.
Written December 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

travelingal60
New York City, NY95 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020
I love visiting the Grolier Club and always find their exhibits of interest. Their ground floor gallery is gorgeous following its renovation and the exhibits held there are always interesting, well put together and offer a wealth of information. Their second floor gallery is smaller but likewise offers a wide array of exhibits on varied topics related to books, publishing, printed matter. The Grolier Club is also always free of charge to the public.
Written January 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BRIAN B
New York City, NY729 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2016 • Solo
The Club itself is for lovers of books. What the public get to view FREE OF CHARGE are interesting exhibitions that contain historical documents and books some from member's collections which are brought together around a theme.

Currently until February 4th, 2017 is an amazing exhibition around the life of the Marquis de Lafayette especially his part in the abolition of slavery.

If you visit NYC to see the musical Hamilton see this exhibit about his contemporary.

See letters that Lafayette sent on an hourly basis to George Washington, the man 'tweeted' centuries ahead of his time!

A must see for anyone with an interest in American history.
Written December 30, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SanFranciscoGuy634
Sarasota, FL1,016 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
The Grolier Club is one of those small treasures of New York. If you love books, real books, you will probably enjoy whatever exhibits are on offer at the Grolier. They are free, easy to access, very well done and seldom crowded. You can stop for half an hour, absorb what they are offering, and then go on your way with your mind tuned toward ideas that were not fascinating it when you walked in. The Grolier is a place that offers nibbles for the mind. Nibbles can be very satisfying.
Written December 22, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Douglas M
Glasgow, Scotland49 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2018
As a bibliophile myself, the Grolier Club was high on my list of institutions to visit in NY. The role of the organisation in promoting bibliophily and book priduction can not be underestimated. Neither woukd I attempt to minimise the free access allerd to the public. Nevertheless I was a little disappointed. The building is certainly hallowed, but there was not as much to see as I had hoped. This is partly due to closure of one of the exhibition rooms due to the building wirks next door. The upstairs exhibition on the opening up of the west contains rare and interesting items, but is perhaps more for the enthusiast of Americana than the foreign tourist.
Written May 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

robcurtross
New York City, NY13,420 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2017 • Couples
We stopped by the Grolier Club a few weeks ago to enjoy and learn from a wonderful collection of items related to Lafayette, hero of two great revolutions and a strong opponent of slavery.

My companion is from Paris, and we have both been amazed at how Lafayette is honored in the United States and barely recognized in France.

This exhibit, like so many at the Grolier, did him full justice.
Written June 9, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lnwyd
Aberdeen, MD512 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2017 • Couples
I always forget that the Grolier is there--in fact, if a colleague hadn't mentioned the exhibition of aesthetic movement books and ephemera, I'd have forgotten again. But this time a took a few minutes out from the conference to walk over, dodge the construction and take a look. The exhibition was a treat although the presentation I thought was a little precious, a little stuffy and "oh of course, you know all about these things and can handle the odd locutions and technical vocabulary."

And the welcome at the door is not particularly warm. I sort of felt I might be disturbing the person on duty just by coming in as a stranger rather than a member. But that was not much of an issue for me.

There are two exhibition areas, a large one of the ground floor, a small, very intimate room on the first floor. Above that are members' spaces. Gosh, wish I knew someone who could invite me upstairs!

This is a place for quiet reflection and simple pleasures of the book.
Written February 20, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

robcurtross
New York City, NY13,420 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2016 • Couples
The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City founded in January 1884 and the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America.

The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Treasurer General of France, whose library was famous; his motto, "Io. Grolierii et amicorum" [of or belonging to Jean Grolier and his friends], suggested his generosity in sharing books. The Club's objective is the literary study of the arts pertaining to the production of books, including the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage these arts; and the acquisition, furnishing and maintenance of a suitable club building for the safekeeping of its property, wherein meetings, lectures and exhibitions shall take place from time to time.

The interior of the building is beautiful, and there are four major exhibitions a year on the first, open to the public for free, as well as several smaller exhibits on the second floor, which change more often.

We always try to see the major exhibits -- an exhibit of posters from World War II was truly magnificent, with examples from each of the major belligerents. At the moment, the hall is closed; a major exhibit about Lafayette and the anti-slavery movement will open on December 6, 2016. Based on the press release and past exhibits, we are eager to see the materials they choose to educate us on this little know aspect of American life.

We both strongly recommend a visit here, even if you have no interest in book collecting. A visit there is not only educational, but many visitors remark on the peace and tranquility they feel here.
Written December 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Grolier Club - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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