Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library was the first large, free municipal library in the United States, today it stands as the second largest library in the nation after the Library of Congress. This library holds an astounding 23 million items so hold
onto your hats bookworms and be sure to wear your walking shoes so you can see them all! Your group will find rare books, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, and original prints everywhere throughout this library, including Shakespeare folios, Mozart scores, and a rare copy of Peter and the Wolf. Overall this public library holds a central library, 24 additional branches, a map center, a business library and center, and an online website service. Last year alone the library saw 3.7 million visitors and rented out over 3.9 million items.
Once here your group will get the chance to take any of the several daily tours, each lasting about an hour and detailing the magnificent architecture and art throughout these impressive collections. You may also just choose to self-tour and explore the building on your own, in which you will see outstanding architecture, murals, statues, and amazing collections of DVDs, bestsellers, research materials, encyclopedias, and just about anything else you could possibly want to read here! Save plenty of time to explore the famous McKim building, holding numerous treasures that highlight the past 160 years of library business, as well as the Bates Hall, restaurant, and library cafe and courtyard. Bates Hall holds some of the most impressive architecture with it’s barrel arched ceiling and English oak bookcases that accent the intricate busts of Bostonian authors throughout. This is one literary stop your group isn’t going to want to miss while in Boston!
