Pawtucket Public Library

The Pawtucket Public Library, located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is a historic landmark established in 1852. Its main building, designed by renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram and completed in 1902, features stunning Classical Revival architecture with ionic columns and intricate reliefs depicting literary and mythological scenes. The library was the first in the U.S. to allow patrons to browse shelves directly. An expansion in the late 1970s connected it to the former Pawtucket Post Office, now the Gerald S. Burns Building. Both structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making the library a significant cultural and architectural site for visitors and researchers alike.