The Boston Public Library was designed and built by the New York
architecture firm of Mead, McKim, and White in the four year period from
1888-1892. It is situated on the south side of Copley Square, opposite
Richardson's Trinity Church in the Back Bay
area of Boston. In
the last forty years of the 19th century, the Back Bay flourished with
development. When built, the library was seen as a keystone in what
would be a plan to bring cultural and scientific institutions into Boston.
The design for the library was as new for American Architecture as was the ideals that the library represented. When construction began, it marked a resurgence in American Classicism. The Italian Renaissance palazzo was the initial form generator for this civic building that was to be; "a palace for the people and dedicated to the advancement of learning". In the end, the design would owe to the works of Richardson, Labrouste, Alberti, and the Roman Colosseum.
This nearly wasnUt so. Originally, the new design was to be the result of a competition. The top two winning entries were merely poor copies of Richardson's style. Eventually, the job of creating the design fell into the lap of the city architect, whose design was not only inelegant, it also wasn't structurally feasible. Ten years later, the actual design was created by the Mckim, Mead firm after being courted by the development committee chairman.
Amidst the myriad of styles and types of buildings within the context of the square, the Boston Public Library makes a strong statement while fitting in with its neighbors. This building, with its light granite facade, turned the tide of the "Brown Decades" and this is easily seen in a comparison to the library to the Trinity Church across the square dark, polychromed walls of stone. It is the levels of detail and the elaborateness of detail that create such a timeless, well fitting building.
It was decided that the halls and facade of the library should be used to bring not only literary knowledge to the people, but also appreciation of the arts. For nearly the first time in American Architecture, architects, painters, and sculptors worked closely to decorate the interior and exterior of this civic monument. Murals by Sargent, de Chavannes, and Abbey grace many of the walls, while the sculptors Pratt and Saint-Gaudens created both freestanding sculpture and panels for the entry facade.
This was also the first example a major public lending library, which made many design decisions difficult in light of the fact that the architects had few other examples from which to guide the program. The capacity was planned to include some 700,000 volumes that were to be lent to patrons, and also be a major U.S. reference collection. These hurdles were overcome by the rearrangement of rooms after the shell had been constructed.
Even though, this was sometimes unsuccessful, the flexibility designed into the structural system by McKim, Mead made it possible for reconfiguration of spaces well into the next century. The floors were designed using Guastavino vaults of thin tile arches with thinner tile vaults. This was contradictory to the method of book storage of the day. Other libraries, such as those at Harvard were using self supporting cast iron stacks. While these were more efficient, they wouldn't allow the flexibility that McKim, Mead saw crucial.
In 1972, Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed the Boston Public
Library Addition in a square block directly behind the original
library.
The new addition reflects in its sparcness the differences of intent
inherent in the two buildings. While the newest part retains the same
blocky feel with a resemblance to the original courtyard building, it is
a different building for a different time. The volumes of the collection
line the unadorned walls of the new library to be looked at by anyone.
This contrasts with the closed stacks and delivery room of the original
design. On the exterior, only the nine bay divisions create a sense of
character unlike the elaborate detail found on the facade of the original
library. Also, there is no open, interior courtyard. Last, the new
entrance is no longer facing a prominent public square, but has been
shifted off the square to a side street.
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