There is two stone lions in front of the New York Public Library and There Names is Patience and Fortitude.

This past Monday, May 23, was actually the lions’ 100th birthdays! The New York Public Library officially opened just over 100 years ago, complete with the two iconic lion statues. The pair didn’t receive their names until the 1930s. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia named them after the two virtues needed to survive the Great Depression, and the names stuck ever since. Patience and Fortitude are now the Library’s mascots; they’ve been trademarked and serve as the Library’s logo. They were originally carved out of marble for $5,000 and have survived exposure to the elements in New York until 2004, when they were finally cleaned and restored. That's 93 years without taking a bath!