The Providence Athenaeum
The Providence Athenaeum is a public library in Providence, Rhode Island, housed in a building with classic Greek columns at the entrance. Inside, tall wooden shelves hold books collected over many years, and natural light pours through skylights and large windows.
The institution formed in 1836 by combining two earlier groups, including a library founded in 1753, and its current building opened in 1838. Architect William Strickland designed the structure with Greek columns and introduced metal shelving to reduce fire risk.
The library is named after the Greek goddess of wisdom, whose statue greets visitors near the entrance. Today it serves members who pay an annual fee to borrow books and attend talks, though anyone can walk in and explore the space.
The library welcomes anyone to walk in and explore the building, even if they are not members who pay to borrow books. A small gift shop near the entrance sells postcards and bookmarks, and the second floor offers reading desks facing the main hall or windows overlooking the street.
A stuffed cat named Strickland lives in the library, and visitors keep a journal to log sightings of him. Edgar Allan Poe visited in the 1840s and had conversations here that became part of the library's literary history.
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