The Boston Athenæum, 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 Boston Athenaeum Is Having an Open House on Saturday, Madeline Bilis, 9/11/2015, bostonmagazine.com