Boston Central Library facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boston Central Library |
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| The main entrance on Dartmouth Street | |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Research library, circulating library |
| Established | February 1895 (opened to public) |
| Location | 700 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 |
| Branch of | Boston Public Library |
The Central Library (also called the Copley Square Library) is the main building of the Boston Public Library (BPL). It takes up a whole city block in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. This amazing library is made of two main parts: the McKim Building and the Johnson Building.
The McKim Building, designed by Charles Follen McKim, opened in 1895. It looks like an old European palace with its Renaissance Revival and Beaux-Arts styles. This part of the library holds special research books. The Johnson Building, designed by Philip Johnson, opened in 1972. It has a more modern, strong look called Brutalist style. This building is where you can borrow books and find rare collections. Both buildings are important landmarks in Boston, and the McKim Building is even a National Historic Landmark.
Contents
Exploring the Library's Location
The Boston Central Library is located in Copley Square in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It covers an entire city block. This block is surrounded by Boylston Street to the north, Dartmouth Street to the east, Blagden Street to the south, and Exeter Street to the west. The older McKim Building is on the eastern side, and the newer Johnson Building is on the western side.
The library is surrounded by other famous Boston landmarks. It looks out towards Old South Church and Trinity Church. There's also a special plaque for the poet Gibran Khalil Gibran across Dartmouth Street. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is also nearby. You can even find a fancy entrance to the MBTA subway's Copley station right in front of the library on Boylston Street.
How the Library Came to Be
The Boston Public Library (BPL) started in 1852. Its first small location opened in 1854. Soon, it needed more space because so many people wanted to read books. By 1858, a new central library opened on Boylston Street. This building quickly became too small as the collection grew. By the 1870s, the library was very crowded, and there was even a risk of fire.
Finding a New Home
In 1880, the state government gave the BPL land in Back Bay for a new, bigger library. This land was near other important buildings like Trinity Church. Many architects tried to design the new library, but their plans weren't quite right.
Finally, in 1887, a famous architect named Charles Follen McKim was chosen. He was given a lot of freedom to design the building. McKim was inspired by a beautiful library in Paris, France, called the Sainte-Geneviève Library. His goal was to create a building that fit in with the other grand buildings in Copley Square.
Building the McKim Library
Construction began in 1888. The building was made of strong granite. There were some delays and extra costs, but work continued. Many artists were hired to create beautiful artwork for the inside of the library. These artists included Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes.
The new Central Library officially opened in February 1895. However, it took many more years for all the artwork to be finished. The building was very expensive for its time. People had some complaints at first, like slow elevators and a heating system that didn't work well. But the library quickly became a popular place.
Growing and Expanding
The library's collection kept growing, and soon the McKim Building needed more space. In 1918, an annex was built on Blagden Street to hold more books and departments. Even with this addition, the library continued to grow. By the mid-20th century, the BPL needed an even bigger expansion.
In 1963, a modernist architect named Philip Johnson was chosen to design a new building. This new building, called the Johnson Building, was built from 1969 to 1972. It was designed to hold the main circulating collection and rare books. The older building then became known as the McKim Building, focusing on research and special collections.
Over the years, both buildings have been renovated to keep them modern and beautiful. The McKim Building was updated in the 1990s, and the Johnson Building received a big renovation in the 2010s. In September 2022, the library's special collections reopened after a five-year renovation.
The McKim Building: A Closer Look
The McKim Building is the original part of the Central Library. It's a three-story building that looks like an Italian Renaissance palace. It's almost square, with a beautiful outdoor courtyard in the middle. This building is home to the library's research collections. Many famous artists helped decorate it, making it a true work of art.
Outside the McKim Building
The building sits on a granite base, a few steps above the sidewalk. Its walls are made of light-gray granite. The outside has many horizontal decorations, like bands and carvings. The lower part of the building has large, rough-looking granite blocks. Above that, the second and third floors have wide arched windows.
You'll see dark, Roman-style grilles in front of the arched windows. Between the arches are round stone decorations called medallions, which show early printers and booksellers. Above the third floor, you can read important messages carved into the stone. These messages talk about the library's founding and its purpose to educate people. The roof is made of special tiles and has copper decorations.
The Main Entrance
The main entrance is on Dartmouth Street. Wide granite steps lead up to three large archways. On either side of the steps are two bronze statues of women, created by Bela Pratt. One represents science, and the other represents art.
The archways lead into the building. Above the middle arch, you'll see a carved head of the goddess Minerva. The words "FREE TO ALL" are carved above it. Inside the arches are fancy iron gates and lights.
Other Sides of the Building
The Boylston Street side, to the north, has a secondary entrance. It's not as fancy as the main entrance but still has iron gates and chandeliers. The Blagden Street side, to the south, is simpler and more practical. It used to be where the library's book stacks were located.
Inside the McKim Building
The first floor is more practical, while the second floor has the most decorated rooms. The third floor has galleries and reading rooms. The building uses a special type of arched brick ceiling called Guastavino tiles, which are very strong and fireproof.
The original book stacks were in the southwest corner. Books were moved around using lifts, pneumatic tubes (like a drive-thru for books!), and small railways. Today, some of these stacks are offices, but pneumatic tubes are still used to get books from the Johnson Building.
The Courtyard and Grand Stairway
Many rooms on the first floor are built around a central courtyard. This courtyard has a fountain and a pool. It's surrounded by a covered walkway with marble columns. A copy of the statue Bacchante and Infant Faun stands in the middle.
The main entrance leads to a lobby with pink marble walls and a mosaic ceiling. From here, you enter a grand stairway. The staircase has yellow marble walls and ivory-gray marble steps. On the landing, you'll see two marble lions, sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. These lions honor soldiers from Massachusetts. The walls above the stairs have ten beautiful blue murals by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes.
Bates Hall: The Main Reading Room
On the second floor is Bates Hall, the main reading room. It's named after Joshua Bates, an early supporter of the library. This huge room is 218 feet long and 50 feet high! It has a beautiful barrel-vaulted ceiling with many carved sections.
The room is decorated in ivory and blue. It has a colonnade (a row of columns) and many oak bookcases. You'll find long tables and comfortable hickory armchairs where people can read and study. The room can seat 330 people. There are also many lamps to light up the workspaces.
Other Special Rooms
The second floor also has the book-delivery room, decorated in an Early Renaissance style. Its walls are covered with murals by Edwin A. Abbey called Quest of the Holy Grail, which tell the story of the search for the Holy Grail. There's also a children's room (now a catalog room) and other special libraries for music, fine arts, and rare books.
The Johnson Building: Modern Design
The Johnson Building, designed by Philip Johnson, opened in 1972. It has a strong, modern look called Brutalist style. It uses the same type of granite as the McKim Building, and it's the same height. This building holds the main collection of books you can borrow and is the main office for all the BPL's branch libraries.
Outside the Johnson Building
Like the McKim Building, the Johnson Building is made of plain granite and has three horizontal sections. The lowest part used to have hidden windows, but during a renovation in the 2010s, these were replaced with tall, clear windows.
The middle section has arched windows that slant outwards. The top section has no windows and sticks out a bit. The roof slopes up to a skylight.
Inside the Johnson Building
The inside of the Johnson Building is designed around a grid of nine square sections. The middle section has a large open space with skylights, similar to the McKim Building's courtyard. This area is called Deferrari Hall. The building has ten levels, with two of them underground.
The McKim and Johnson buildings are connected by walkways. The Johnson Building was renovated in the 2010s to make it more welcoming. The ground floor now has a reception desk, a new-book section, a cafe, and a radio studio. In the basement, there's a large auditorium called Rabb Hall and a business library.
The second floor has a colorful children's library, divided into sections for different age groups. There's also a reading room for teenagers with cool decorations like old transit signs. The adults' reading room has study areas and red bookshelves. You can also find a bust of Edgar Allan Poe inside.
What You Can Find Here
The Central Library has an amazing collection of items. The McKim Building holds research materials, photographs, prints, and special collections. The Johnson Building has the circulating books (books you can borrow) and rare books. The library even has a shop to repair old books.
As of 2022, the library's special collections include:
- Copies of the United States Declaration of Independence.
- Original drawings by Robert McCloskey.
- A William Shakespeare First Folio (an early collection of his plays).
- The The Liberator newspaper.
- A Robert Aitken Bible (the first English-language Bible printed in the U.S.).
- A book from the 15th-century printer William Caxton.
- Many prints by the artist Rembrandt.
- Thousands of items about the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
- Thousands of photographs from local newspapers.
- Thousands of old postcards.
- Thousands of negatives from photographer Leslie Ronald Jones.
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, established in 2004, has 200,000 maps and 5,000 atlases. The library also has collections of music, math, astronomy, and history books, along with the personal libraries of important figures like former U.S. president John Adams.
How People See the Library
The McKim Building's design was very important in American architecture. It helped start a new style called "Renaissance Classicism" in the United States. Many people called it "the first great example of 'civic art'."
What People Thought Then and Now
When the original library plans were first shown, some people made fun of the design. But others praised it as "one of the most remarkable library buildings in the country." Some thought it was beautiful but not very practical for finding books.
As the McKim Building was finished, many called it one of the prettiest buildings in the U.S. People said it had "severe elegance" and was "a marvel of beauty combined with utility."
When the Johnson Building was built, opinions were mixed. Some thought it looked too plain or like a "fortress." But others said it complemented the older McKim Building well, despite its modern style.
Today, people still admire the McKim Building for its beauty and history. Bates Hall is considered one of Boston's "sacred" places. The Johnson Building, especially after its renovations in the 2010s, is now seen as more welcoming and open to the city. Many people enjoy how the old and new buildings stand side-by-side, creating a unique look for the Central Library.
The McKim Building was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986 for its important architecture and history. The entire Central Library, including the Johnson Building's facade and main areas, was named a city landmark in 2000.
