The marble lions guarding the New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts Fifth Avenue Branch are one of the most iconic images of the city. Originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after The New York Public Library founders John Jacob Astor and James Lenox,  During the 1930s, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia named them Patience and Fortitude, for the qualities he felt New Yorkers needed to survive the Great Depression depression. These names have stuck over the decades the test of time: Patience still guards the south side of the Library's entrance with Fortitude on the north side.