The Boston Athenaeum was founded in 1807 and grew out of the Anthology Society, a group formed two years earlier to publish The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review. Its founders envisioned a private library containing major works of literature and science. The Athenaeum soon expanded into an art museum, exhibition space, and one of Boston’s main cultural institutions.
Construction of its present building at 10½ Beacon Street began in 1847. Designed by Edward Clarke Cabot, it opened in 1849 with a sculpture gallery on the first floor, books on the second, and a skylit painting gallery above them. Henry Forbes Bigelow designed a major expansion in 1913 and 1914, adding the fourth and fifth floors. The building received National Historic Landmark status in 1965.
The Athenaeum completed another renovation and expansion in 2022, opening more of the building to visitors while preserving its galleries, reading rooms, and rows of book stacks. Its collection now includes roughly half a million circulating books along with paintings, sculptures, maps, photographs, and rare documents. It is still a member-supported library, though the public has more access than in the past. The slightly absurd 10½ address remains unchanged.
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