Boston Athenæum

The Boston Athenæum, located at 10½ Beacon Street in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest independent libraries and museums in the United States. The Athenæum combines the functions of a library with those of an art gallery and museum. As of 2005, the building holds roughly half a million volumes, with particular strengths in Boston history, New England state and local history, biography, English and American literature, and the fine and decorative arts. The Athenæum is owned by 1,049 "Proprietors" who can pass right of ownership by heredity, and has a membership of over five thousand people, making it the largest and most successful membership library in the United States.

Related Topics:
Boston - Massachusetts - Libraries - Museum - United States - Art gallery - New England

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The Athenæum was founded in 1807 by members of the Anthology Club, and modelled on the Athenæum and Lyceum in Liverpool, United Kingdom, "combining the advantages of a public library containing the great works of learning and science in all languages." Financed by wealthy merchants and frequented by notable literary and political figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Daniel Webster, and Amy Lowell, for nearly half a century the Athenæum was the unchallenged center of intellectual life in Boston.

Related Topics:
1807 - Anthology Club - Athenæum - Lyceum - Liverpool - United Kingdom - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Daniel Webster - Amy Lowell

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