Boston Athenaeum
About this property
The Boston Athenæum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is a membership library, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenæum services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 10½ Beacon Street on Beacon Hill in Boston. Resources of the Boston Athenæum include a large circulating book collection; a public gallery; a rare books collection of over 100,000 volumes; an art collection of 100,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts; research collections including one of the world's most important collections of primary materials on the American Civil War; and a public forum offering lectures, readings, concerts, and other events. Special treasures include the largest portion of President George Washington's library from Mount Vernon; Jean-Antoine Houdon busts of Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Lafayette once owned by Thomas Jefferson; a first edition copy of John James Audubon's The Birds of America; a 1799 set of Francisco Goya's Los caprichos; portraits by Gilbert Stuart, Chester Harding, and John Singer Sargent; and one of the most extensive collections of contemporary artists' books in the United States. The Boston Athenæum is also known for the many prominent writers, scholars, and politicians who have been members, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., John Quincy Adams, Margaret Fuller, Francis Parkman, Amy Lowell, John F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Boston Athenaeum
This page lists Boston Athenaeum. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nearby Battles
Questions about this property
When was Boston Athenaeum listed on the National Register?
Boston Athenaeum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.
What type of historic resource is Boston Athenaeum?
Boston Athenaeum is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Boston Athenaeum a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Boston Athenaeum has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Boston Athenaeum?
The period of significance for Boston Athenaeum is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Boston Athenaeum?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Boston Athenaeum will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Suffolk County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Suffolk County.
Explore SuffolkCounty ›More historic places in Massachusetts
Browse all historic places in Massachusetts.
View Massachusettshistoric sites ›Massachusetts history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Massachusettshistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Boston Athenaeum will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.