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Boston Public Library

Copley Square’s Boston Public Library has been an educational and reform hub for women, showcasing art, literature, and influential contributions in its historic McKim building.

The “BPL,” as it is commonly known, has served as an intellectual and educational center for Boston women, from reformers to newly-arrived immigrants, since it opened in 1854. Housed in the elegant McKim building since 1895 and the addition designed by Philip Johnson opened in 1972, the library was called a “noble treasure house of learning” by Russian immigrant, Mary Antin (1881-1949). She wrote, to be “in the midst of all the books that ever were written was a miracle as great as any on record.”

Many Boston women have also worked as library professionals including Louise Imogen Guiney (1861-1920), who later became a respected poet and writer and filled a role as an ambassador between the Irish Catholic community and the Boston Brahmins. Women pioneered children’s services at the library. Alice M. Jordan (1870-1960) was the first Supervisor of Work with Children, serving from 1900 to 1940. 

In 1906, she founded the New England Round Table of Children’s Librarians to provide a meeting ground for this emerging profession. Since 1960, the Round Table and the Massachusetts Library Association have sponsored the Jordan-Miller Storytelling Program in recognition of Jordan’s commitment to storytelling. Beryl Robinson (1906-89) introduced storytelling to children in BPL branches all over the city in the 1940s and 1950s. Her stories came from many cultures. In 1958-59, she produced and told stories on public television, extending her audience to children throughout eastern Massachusetts. Several women are included in the library’s art collection. The Charlotte Cushman Room on the third floor of the McKim building is named for one of Boston’s favorite nineteenth-century dramatic actresses and art patrons, who was born in the North End.

Walk through the Johnson Building and the courtyard to the Research Library. Walk upstairs and turn left to enter Bates Hall.

A bust by Anne Whitney of Lucy Stone, Boston suffragist and founder of the Woman’s Journal, is displayed in Bates Hall, along with a bust of her daughter Alice Stone Blackwell by Frances L. Rich. Dioramas created by Louise Stimson (1890-1981) in the 1940s, on the third floor of the McKim Building, depict miniature scenes of famous artists and their paintings.

Notable Women at this Landmark

(1881 - 1949)
(1857 - 1950)
(1816 - 1876)
(1861 - 1920)
(1870 - 1960)
(1910 - 2007)
(1906 - 1989)
(1890 - 1981)
(1818 - 1893)
(1821 - 1915)

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Boston Women's Heritage Trail

The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail celebrates the past accomplishments of remarkable women in Boston, claiming their rightful place in our City’s history. Through education, reflection, and an interactive city-wide monument, we activate the powerful female side of Boston’s history.