Free to All: The History of the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library was the first large free municipal library in the United States. Here is how it began and what to see at Copley Square.
Carved above the entrance to the Boston Public Library’s main building in Copley Square are three words: Free to All. They sum up an idea that was radical in the mid-1800s and that Boston helped make normal across the country.
An unusual idea
Before the BPL, most American libraries were private. Members paid fees or bought shares, or the libraries belonged to colleges and learned societies. In the 1840s, a group of Bostonians argued that a city should provide books for everyone, regardless of wealth, as part of a democratic society.
In 1848, the Massachusetts legislature authorized the city to establish a public library. It opened to the public in 1854 in a former schoolhouse on Mason Street. The BPL is widely recognized as the first large, publicly supported free municipal library in the United States, and one of the first to let ordinary people borrow books to take home.
The palace for the people
The library outgrew its early homes. In 1895, it opened a new building in Copley Square, designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White. Often called a palace for the people, it was built to show that public institutions deserved the same grandeur as private ones.
Inside, look for:
- Bates Hall, the great reading room with its long barrel-vaulted ceiling and green lamps, named for the benefactor Joshua Bates.
- The courtyard, modeled on Italian palazzo gardens, a quiet space in the middle of the city.
- Murals by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Edwin Austin Abbey and John Singer Sargent, whose ambitious series on religion took him decades to complete.
- The bronze doors and the grand staircase, guarded by marble lions.
A modern addition
In 1972, a new wing designed by the architect Philip Johnson opened next door on Boylston Street. It holds much of the library’s circulating collection. The building was renovated in the 2010s to open it up to the street with large windows, a cafe and spaces for children and teens.
Branches across the city
The BPL also helped pioneer the idea of neighborhood branch libraries. Its first branch opened in East Boston in 1870, and the system has grown to include branches in neighborhoods across the city. Each one serves as a community hub for books, computers, classes and programs.
Using the library today
Massachusetts residents can generally get a free BPL card, which gives access to books, digital collections, databases and special programs. The central library offers free art and architecture tours, and its special collections hold rare books, maps and manuscripts.
On a cold winter day, there are few better places in Boston to spend a few hours. Find a seat in Bates Hall, read in the courtyard if the weather allows, and take in the murals. Check bpl.org for hours, card requirements and tour times before you go.
