Libraries create powerful feelings. The sights, sounds and smells all swirl together to create an ineffable vibe that either welcomes or repels. There is a moment of anticipation, just before opening the door, and then the scene floods in and you get the feeling. Often there are no big surprises...certainly it is easy to predict the interior of a small ranch-style library from 1970 or a towering university glass box.
But what about the feeling when you enter Bates Hall at the Boston Public Library at 700 Boylston Street?
If it doesn’t take your breath away you’re probably not breathing. Honestly, I get the same feeling when I enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC - it is transformational.
First of all the scale is astounding: 218 ft. long, 42 ft. wide and 50 ft. high. Along the wall are 15 massive arched windows perched above English oak bookcases. But the real problem is the vaulted ceiling - how can you concentrate on reading when you can tip your head back and take in such glory overhead? Just imagine the heating bill. The library restored this room and the rest of the McKim building (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) as part of a $50 million, 10 year project.
The space is named after Joshus Bates, from Weymouth, MA, who donated $50,000 to the library in 1852. He wrote to the Mayor of Boston and offered the money on the condition that "the building shall be such as to be an ornament to the City, that there shall be a room for one hundred to one hundred and fifty persons to sit at reading tables, and that it be perfectly free to all." The library happily agreed. Thank you Mr. Bates and Mr. McKim, this sanctuary is truly a “fitting temple for great thoughts of generations past, present and to be”.
But what about the feeling when you enter Bates Hall at the Boston Public Library at 700 Boylston Street?
If it doesn’t take your breath away you’re probably not breathing. Honestly, I get the same feeling when I enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC - it is transformational.
First of all the scale is astounding: 218 ft. long, 42 ft. wide and 50 ft. high. Along the wall are 15 massive arched windows perched above English oak bookcases. But the real problem is the vaulted ceiling - how can you concentrate on reading when you can tip your head back and take in such glory overhead? Just imagine the heating bill. The library restored this room and the rest of the McKim building (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) as part of a $50 million, 10 year project.
The space is named after Joshus Bates, from Weymouth, MA, who donated $50,000 to the library in 1852. He wrote to the Mayor of Boston and offered the money on the condition that "the building shall be such as to be an ornament to the City, that there shall be a room for one hundred to one hundred and fifty persons to sit at reading tables, and that it be perfectly free to all." The library happily agreed. Thank you Mr. Bates and Mr. McKim, this sanctuary is truly a “fitting temple for great thoughts of generations past, present and to be”.
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