[1] Additional funding came from the estate of William Mason, a local resident; and two mayors of Auckland.

In March 1905, mayor Edwin Mitchelson opened the Leys Institute Public Library.

A rear addition and basement extension were done in 1939, and in 1958, the Hilary Leys Memorial Wing, a two-storey children's library, was constructed.

[4] The Leys Institute has served as a library and gymnasium but also as a community centre with artistic and sporting groups utilising the facilities.

[1] Heritage New Zealand described the Leys Institute as a "nationally significant ... monument to the Victorian ideals of education and self-improvement, and the philanthropic ideals of sections of the Victorian middle class" and said that it contributes to the streetscape of the Three Lamps area, along with the Ponsonby Post Office.

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