Boston Athenæum

__NOTOC__Infobox_nrhp | name =Boston Athenaeum
nrhp_type = nhl


caption = The Boston Athenaeum building today, as designed by Edward Clarke Cabot with additions by Henry Forbes Bigelow
location= Boston, Massachusetts
lat_degrees = 42
lat_minutes = 21
lat_seconds = 28.96
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 71
long_minutes = 3
long_seconds = 43.77
long_direction = W
locmapin = Massachusetts
area =
built =1847
architect= Cabot,Edward Clark; Bigelow & Wadsworth
architecture= Neoclassical, Renaissance Revival
designated=December 21, 1965
added = October 15, 1966
governing_body = Private
refnum=66000132cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Boston Athenæum is an independent library and museum in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club. Edward Clark Cabot designed the present building, which opened in 1849 and was modelled on the Athenæum and Lyceum in Liverpool, United Kingdom. [ [http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/general.html About the Athenæum] ]

It is located on Beacon Street, near the top of Beacon Hill, and a short walk from the Massachusetts State House.

The Athenæum combines the functions of a library with those of an art gallery and museum. It is home to more than 700,000 books including original works by George Washington, approximately one-half of Washington's personal library from Mount Vernon, as well as the bibles that King James sent to the colonists to try and turn them to religion instead of revolution. [ [http://www.newenglandghosttours.com/tours.html The Boston Spirits Walking Tour] ]

Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of many authors to frequent the Athenæum, "had a special relationship with this book-filled building. A relationship with the ghost of a man who, to this day, still calls for the elevator to come to the third floor to get him. The Boston Athenaeum is said to be haunted by the scholarly Rev. Harris, who was seen there by Nathaniel Hawthorne." [ [http://www.newenglandghosttours.com/tours.html The Boston Spirits Walking Tour] ]

In 1855, the newly formed Boston Art Club held its first Exhibition of Paintings at the Athenæum. Alfred Ordway, one of the founding Members of the Boston Art Club, had been working at the Athenæum and became the Athenæum's Director of Paintings from 1856-1863.

Notes

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.

References

External links

* [http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/ The Boston Athenæum website]
* [http://www.bostonartclub.com The Boston Art Club website]