Boston Public Library

Friday, July 13, 2018

Boston Public Library - is the municipal library of Boston, and is also a state library. Every resident of Massachussets can borrow from this library - free of cost. It is the second largest library in United States (after Library of Congress in Washington DC). It is situated in the Boston's famous Copley Square.

For visitors, BPL offers a regular tour of the building free of cost. The main building is know as McKim Building. (picture above)

Grand Staircase - The entrance and staircase is know as Grand Staircase. The walls are painted with murals and there is a beautiful chandelier right above the staircase. (The murals were painted by the French painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, who is considered one of the greatest muralists of 19th century)

Bates Hall - Central Library Reading Room of the library. Its an impressive room of 50 foot high ceiling. The furnitures and bookcases are still from the 1800s.

Abbey Room - This room served as a book delivery room where the patrons had waited for the books they requested. The librarians and delivery boys would go inside and pickup the books while the patrons waited in this room. This room is adorned with mural paintings, which depicts Sir Galahad's Quest for the Holy Grail.

I tried to capture the mural paintings in this room with a panoramic view, with little success. Here it is! This picture do not do justice to the real thing!

Sargent Gallery - One will wonder why a Public library have this type of space. This gallery is on the top of library building and had ornate paintings. The Gallery is named after the artist, who spent 29 years of his life painting this room! The theme of the room is Triumph of Religion, though I personally wonder why such a theme was chosen for a public library building! The murals and iconography includes images from Egyptian and Assyrian styles, and stories from Judaism and Christianity. The installation of a synagogue imagery created a public debate - anti-semitism was (and still is) prevalent in United States at the time.

Jewish Side portraits & paintings: