5 things you didn’t know about the Boston Public Library

There is so much history to discover right in the heart of Boston.

The entrance to the main branch of The Boston Public Library is seen on October 14, 2022 in Boston. AP

For many, the library is just a place to check out and return books. In reality, they are one of the most critical public services offered in our communities, providing education, entertainment and more for people everywhere. Did you know that the Boston Public Library was originally in a former schoolhouse on Mason Street that opened to the public on March 20, 1854, but quickly moved due to an influx of book inventory? There is so much rich history to explore.

More women were involved in the decoration than is thought

American feminist, abolitionist and reformer Julia Ward Howe (1819 – 1910) circa 1855. She is best known for writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. *Original artwork: Engraving after a drawing by Porter. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)*

The Elliott Room, located on the second floor of BPL, came about when John Elliott was commissioned, in part because he was the son-in-law of Julia Ward Howea prominent Bostonian writer and poet. Elliott’s wife, Maud, managed both her mother’s and her husband’s legacies through gifts to the BPL.

BPL is full of rookies

Opened in 1848, BPL was the first large free public library in the United States, the first public lending library, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a children’s room.

In fact, a French ventriloquist is called M. Nicholas Marie Alexandre Vattemare was the first outspoken proponent of the idea of a public library in Boston when he proposed the idea of a book and print exchange between American and French libraries.

The library is built on a landfill

The 1869 Back Bay is shown partially filled. Arlington Street Church is on the left. (1869)

Once a swamp used for millingBack Bay is now a cultural hub of the city, with BPL, Copley Place, Prudential Center, Trinity Church and more. Although legislative development began as far back as 1814, the wetlands were not filled in until 1857, taking until 1900 to complete.

There is knowledge behind John Singer Sargent’s blank panel

On the third floor of the McKim Building, you can find John Singer Sargent’s “Triumph of Religion.” This mural cycle it took Sargent 29 years to carry out and detail his studies of paganism, Judaism and Christianity, all of which were controversial subjects at the time. The last painting, “The Sermon on the Mount”, could never be finished, resulting in the empty panel we see today.

Sketch for the “Sermon on the Mount”, intended to be completed on the blank panel we see today.

You don’t need login details to access the Special Collections Department – just an appointment

To access historical documents, you do not need academic or press credentials. All you have to do to explore this sprawling collection of Boston and American history is book an appointment.