Boston Athenæum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Boston Athenaeum | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
 The Boston Athenaeum building today, as designed by Edward Clarke Cabot with additions by Henry Forbes Bigelow
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| Location: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates: | 42°21′28.96″N 71°3′43.77″W / 42.3580444°N 71.0621583°W |
| Built/Founded: | 1847 |
| Architect: | Cabot,Edward Clark; Bigelow & Wadsworth |
| Architectural style(s): | Neoclassical, Renaissance Revival |
| Governing body: | Private |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL: | December 21, 1965 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000132 |
Boston Athenæum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of only sixteen extant membership libraries, meaning that patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use the Athenaeum's services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club of Boston, Massachusetts.[2]
Edward Clark Cabot designed the present building, which opened in 1849 and was modelled on the Athenæum and the Lyceum in Liverpool, United Kingdom. In 1913, Henry Forbes Bigelow oversaw subsequent renovations and additions to the building.
The Athenaeum's holdings currently include over 500,000 volumes, and the collections' strengths focus on Boston and New England history, biography, British and American literature, as well as fine and decorative arts. Visitors are welcome to tour the first floor and art gallery, while the other floors are reserved for Athenaeum members.[3]
It is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, just a short walk from the Massachusetts State House.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ Boston Athenaeum. Change and Continuity: A Pictorial History of the Boston Athenaeum. Boston: Boston Athenaeum, 1976.
- ^ About the Athenæum
[edit] Further reading
- Josiah Quincy III, The History of the Boston Athenæum, with Biographical Notices of its Deceased Founders. Cambridge, MA., Metcalf and Company, 1851.
- The Athenæum Centenary, The Influence and History of the Boston Athenæum from 1807 to 1907 with a Record of its Officers and Benefactors and a Complete List of Proprietors. Boston, The Boston Athenæum, 1907.
- Robert F. Perkins, Jr. & William J. Gavin III, editors, The Boston Athenæum Art Exhibition Index, 1827-1874. Boston, MA, The Boston Athenæum, 1980.
[edit] References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ Boston Athenaeum. Change and Continuity: A Pictorial History of the Boston Athenaeum. Boston: Boston Athenaeum, 1976.
- ^ About the Athenæum
[edit] External links
- The Boston Athenæum website
- New Worlds and Old: encountering The Boston Athenaeum” 2003 ArtsEditor.com article
| List of Membership Libraries in the United States Athenaeum of Philadelphia | Athenaeum Music and Arts Library | Boston Athenæum | Charleston Library Society | General Society Library | Lanier Library Association | Mercantile Library Center for Fiction | Mercantile Library of Cincinnati | Mechanics' Institute Library | New York Society Library | Portsmouth Athenæum | Providence Athenaeum | Redwood Library and Athenaeum | Salem Athenaeum | St. Johnsbury Athenaeum | St. Louis Mercantile Library | |
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| List of Athenaeums in the United States Philadelphia | Boston | La Jolla | Minneapolis | Portsmouth, NH | Providence, RI | Newport, RI | Salem, MA | Saint Johnsbury, VT | Columbia, TN | Pittsfield, MA |
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