Patience and Fortitude (New York Public Library lions)

The two stone lions flanking the entrance of the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building have stood at the Fifth Avenue facade since the building opened in 1911 and are popularly nicknamed “Patience” and “Fortitude.” The names were popularized during the 1930s by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia as symbols of qualities New Yorkers needed during the Great Depression. The lion sculptures are iconic, frequently photographed fixtures of the library’s site-specific architectural setting.