Sixty chairs, four hundred lamps, and a rule against talking. Thursday through Sunday, nine until three.
Ask about a chairTwo feet of brick means the freight trains on Mulberry arrive as a low hum rather than a noise. We took the fluorescent grid out in 2019 and never replaced it. Light comes from lamps you can reach — one per chair, brass, on a dimmer, yours to set.
There is no overhead light in the main room at all. On a full night the ceiling is completely dark and the floor is a field of small warm circles. People tend to lower their voices before we ask them to.
No conversation past the vestibule. Notes are fine. We keep pencils by the door.
Screens face down or stay in your bag. The wifi password is not a secret; there is no wifi.
Stay as long as you want. Nobody will come to your chair to ask if you need anything.
The door unlocks at nine. Last entry is one in the morning; if you are already inside at one you are welcome to stay to close.
A chair is not reserved for you, but the room is never oversold. When we are at sixty we lock the door and put the lantern out front, and you can wait on the bench or come back tomorrow.