Bring your curiosity and explore!

Becoming a member of the Boston Athenaeum community is to enter a world apart from the everyday.

Experience the Athenaeum

Amazing Space – Amazing space with stunning views of historic and modern Boston, classic architecture, and inviting reading rooms and nooks for reading, work, and reflection. Our sun-drenched ‘living room’ spaces offer comfy chairs, game tables, a kitchenette, even private rooms for phone and video calls.

Cultural events and exhibitions – Author talks, movie nights, lunchtime concerts, cocktail hours, lectures, and discussion groups on topics from detective novels to Shakespeare to play reading.

A wide array of special collections that include paintings by John Singer Sargent, Allan Rohan Crite, Polly Thayer Starr, and Gilbert Stuart, splendid lithographs from the 1800s, rare books, and modern painting and photography.

Go Further – With membership, you can get free or discounted tickets to 1200+ libraries and cultural institutions through NARM and ROAM ― from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, The Frick Collection in NYC, and the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Come on in!

The best way to understand our uniquely beautiful and rich collections is to experience it.

• Get updates on events and happenings. Most events are open to nonmembers, including author talks, exhibition talks and tours, and art and architecture tours.

• Come to our free Community Day open house on September 30, 10am – 4pm. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What’s an Athenaeum?” Community Day is one of the most fun, lively ways to find out. Get ready for an incredible journey filled with discovery (and some surprises.) Register for timed entry.

• Take a free 20-minute tour to learn about the Boston Athenaeum and see our amazing building . We are offering drop-in tours every Monday and Wednesday, noon or 5:30 pm through October 11, 2023. Registration not required but it helps if you let us know you’re coming. Email membership@bostonathenaeum.org with questions or to let us know that you’re on your way.