Old Boston Library, Franklin and Arch Streets, Tontine Crescent, Boston, Mass., undated

Description

The sign "Boston Library" which can be seen between the pillars is for the Boston Library Society. The Society, later to become the Boston Athenaeum, used the central pavilion of Tontine Crescent as its facility until 1858. The central pavilion was replicated as the façade of the Kirstein Business Branch of the Boston Public Library on City Hall Avenue. Tontine Crescent was a Bulfinch designed block of residences completed in 1794 and demolished in 1858. The block was part of Franklin Street and was between Hawley and Otis Streets. Arch Street was extended through the central archway under the pavilion. The large urn, on the lower left side of the image, was relocated to the Bulfinch plot in Mount Auburn Cemetery.