The Boston Athenaeum, Boston, MA
1807 Independent Library
The Boston Athenæum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries, meaning that patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use the Athenæum's services.
"To be frank, it’s a magical place reminiscent of the Boston Brahmin aesthetic, meaning it’s filled with rare books, art, architecture, and a lot of marble busts... It’s evident that the Athenaeum isn’t any ordinary library; an athenaeum is defined as a membership library dedicated to research and the promotion of learning, named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. Boston’s Athenaeum was founded in 1807 — it has more than 500,000 books, including the largest portion of George Washington’s collection in the country, and a book bound with human skin."
The Reading Room: Before
Bill's began his career here, restoring this room, the most beautiful room in the Athenæum, the 5th floor Reading Room. On his original project, he worked with a team to paint and restore various plaster details, that had been damaged by a water leak.
Image by artist Shellburne Thurber, http://www.shellburnethurber.com/
The Reading Room: Before
If you look closely, you can see the damage done to the arched part at the top of the window frame.
The Reading Room: Before
Image by artist Shellburne Thurber, http://www.shellburnethurber.com/
Reading Room: After
Bill has returned many times over the years to make repairs and paint the rooms at the Athenæum.
The Reading Room: After