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Boston Athenæum

1807 establishments in MassachusettsArt museums and galleries in MassachusettsCultural history of BostonCulture of BostonHistoric district contributing properties in Massachusetts
Landmarks in Beacon Hill, BostonLibraries established in 1807Libraries in Beacon Hill, BostonLibraries on the National Register of Historic Places in MassachusettsLibrary buildings completed in 1849Museums established in 1807Museums in BostonNRHP infobox with nocatNational Historic Landmarks in BostonNational Register of Historic Places in BostonNeoclassical architecture in MassachusettsRare book librariesRenaissance Revival architecture in MassachusettsSubscription libraries
Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club of Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 10 1/2 Beacon Street on Beacon Hill. Resources of the Boston Athenaeum 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; Houdon busts of Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Lafayette once owned by Thomas Jefferson; a first edition copy of Audubon's The Birds of America; a 1799 set of 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 Athenaeum 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.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Boston Athenæum (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Boston Athenæum
Beacon Street, Boston Beacon Hill

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N 42.358044444444 ° E -71.062158333333 °
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Boston Athenaeum Library

Beacon Street 10
02133 Boston, Beacon Hill
Massachusetts, United States
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bostonathenaeum.org

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Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Athenaeum, Boston, Massachusetts
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