A view from the cathedral-like interior of the entrance hall of the New York Public Library’s main research branch at 42nd Street. Massive marble walls are flanked by soaring arches, from which wide bands with bas-relief elements rise and converge on a series of concentric rings at the top of a heavily ornamented domed ceiling. Hanging by a long chain from the center of the rings is a cylindrical lantern in a glass and metal casing with a domed top, containing several glowing electric candles. Behind the lantern, and framing it, is an arched window with a view of the outside, where we can glimpse another wing of the library with its own matching window.