Boston Public Library's McKim Building and Bates Hall

The Boston Public Library's McKim Building opened in 1895 and contains Bates Hall, a large, historically significant reading room modeled after Renaissance libraries. The building features murals by John Singer Sargent and others, and the library itself-founded in 1848-is widely cited as the first large free municipal library in the United States. Locals and researchers regularly use the McKim Building for study, public programs, and to view its art and architecture. The central library is a long-standing cultural and civic institution in Copley Square.