At a Glance

The Boston Athenæum Facts

The mission of the Boston Athenæum is to serve its members, the broader community, and scholars throughout the world by preserving and augmenting its collections of books and art, by providing library services and cultural programs, and by preserving and enhancing the unique atmosphere of its landmark building.

The Boston Athenæum is sustained by its endowment, member fees, income, and financial support from our annual fund.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “athenæum” as:

• a. An association of persons interested in scientific and literary pursuits, meeting for the purpose of mutual improvement; a literary or scientific club;
• b. A building or institution in which books, periodicals, and newspapers are provided for use; a literary club-room, reading-room, library.

Just as a museum is a place for the muses who inspire art, so an athenæum is a place for Athena, the goddess of wisdom who inspires intellectual pursuits.

The Boston Athenæum was founded in 1807 by members of the Anthology Society, literary individuals who began with a plan to have a reading room but then expanded their vision to include a library encompassing books in all subjects in English and foreign languages, a gallery of sculptures and paintings, collections of coins and natural curiosities, and even a laboratory. This ambitious design has evolved over the past two hundred years with some changes in focus (i.e. there is no chemistry lab) but remaining true to the ideal expressed in our seal, chosen in 1814: Literarum fructus dulces, sweet are the fruits of letters.

At first, the Boston Athenæum rented rooms, then in 1809 bought a small house adjacent to the King’s Chapel Burial Ground, and in 1822 moved into a mansion on Pearl Street, where a lecture hall and gallery space were added within four years.

In 1827, the first annual exhibition opened.

In 1849, the current location at 10 ½ Beacon Street opened. It was the first space designed for the Boston Athenæum’s specific needs.  The first floor held the sculpture gallery; the second, the library; and the third, the paintings gallery.

The architect was Edward Clarke Cabot, an artist and dilettante whose design was selected because his ingenious arch over graves in the Granary Burial Ground allowed more space on all floors above the basement level.

Many of the Trustees at the Boston Athenæum participated in the movement to create a separate museum in Boston. In the years 1872-1876, the Museum of Fine Arts exhibited in our gallery space while waiting for construction of its building to be complete. There would be no more annual exhibitions; shelves were installed and the library spread to the first and third floors.

The neo-Palladian façade of “Patterson sandstone” was unique in Boston. In 1913-1914, when the Boston Athenæum employed the architectural firm of Bigelow and Wadsworth to expand the building, the fourth and fifth floors were set back so as not to disrupt the symmetry of the façade. This renovation not only fireproofed the building but also expanded the space, including addition of the beautiful fifth floor reading room, the fourth floor Trustees’ Room, and the much-needed shelving in the eleven levels of drum stacks from the basement to the third floor.

The Boston Athenæum was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

Between 1999 and 2002, the Boston Athenæum undertook a major renovation to update its climate control system, gain more space for books, and add new gallery space on the first floor.

The Boston Athenæum’s rare and circulating books reflect the collecting interests of the Library as it has narrowed its focus from being encyclopedic in the 19th century to its current focus on the humanities and its large, historic collection of art includes paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs, and decorative arts.

The Boston Athenæum celebrated its bicentennial in 2007.