Boston Public Library (McKim Building)

The McKim Building of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square opened in 1895 and was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Beaux-Arts style. The Boston Public Library is widely described as the first large free municipal library in the United States and contains notable murals by John Singer Sargent and Edwin Austin Abbey. Its reading rooms and courtyard have influenced public library design across the country.