Accent Limousine Blogger Guide to The Boston Public Library
Posted by Julie Ryan on Sun, Jun 05, 2011 @ 05:38 PM
Ahh... the Boston Public Library. In my mind, it's the most magnificent building in all of Boston.
The history... the books... the architecture... it's just beautiful.
Here's a little history lesson. According to Wikipedia, The Boston Public Library (est.1848) is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to borrow books and other materials and take them home to read and use. The Boston Public Library is also the library of last recourse of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding. The Boston Public Library contains 8.9 million books and A/V (approximately 22 million items encompassing all formats), making it the second-largest library in the United States, according to the American Library Association.
That place is just absolutely amazing.
Here are a few insider tips.
1) They have the most amazing courtyard you'll see in the US. Yes, that's a bold statement and I'm not backing down from it. You need to see it for yourself.
2) During the summer they have Concerts in the Courtyard. Every Friday at 12:30pm, they have a lunchtime concert series that ranges from all different types of music. Grab a sandwich from The Catered Affair (good pre-made sandwiches around $7) and get there early to grab a seat.
3) They have free art and architectural tours of the building. The scheduled times are can be found if you click the link to the tours.
4) They have Scrabble tournaments! Who doesn't love a good Scrabble game?
5) They have Afternoon Tea at The Courtyard Restaurant. That just sounds fancy. Besides the afternoon tea, the restaurant itself has Top Chef quality food. I've eaten there many times and everything they make is fabulous. It's the fanciest lunch in Boston and it won't break the bank ($12 Cobb Salad highly recommended).
6) My best tip of all. You can get MARRIED at the Boston Public Library. Why do I know that? Because I did it!
Back when I first moved to Boston in 2002 I was in the library and took a wrong turn that led me outside into the most beautiful courtyard I had ever seen. I was magically transported to a place I had seen in Rome when I had studied abroad in college. After seeing the courtyard I started talking to city people. Turns out, no one really knew about it. It was the most magical hidden gem in the city.
When it was time for my husband and I to pick a location for our wedding, all I could think about was the courtyard. I didn't even know if they did weddings but with a phone call and one meeting, we officially had our wedding location. We were to get married in the courtyard and have our reception in the Popular Reading Room of the library.
That's me reading my vows in the courtyard. The single best moment of my life. Notice the ground is wet... on our wedding day the sun refused to break through for the entire day. Moments before I walked down the aisle, the sun finally appeared letting me know it was time.
This was our reception room at the library. We designed everything about it and I cried when I saw it. Actually, I cried a lot on the day we got married. So did my husband (but don't tell anyone I told you that).
There will be many more wedding posts in the future, but this is about the Boston Public Library. If you've never been, please please go. Take your kids! Take your spouse! It doesn't have to end up being a destination - you can always just pop in and marvel at the beauty of this building.
If you decide to have your wedding at the Boston Public Library, Accent Limousine can take care of your every need. They have a full fleet of vehicles for your wedding and will make sure that your day goes perfectly. As a bride I know I had to find VERY trustworthy vendors to rely on to make my day be as smooth as possible and I can tell you that Accent Limousine will take care of everything. Our limousine driver helped our groomsmen perfectly fold up their handkerchiefs for the suits as well as keeping everyone on schedule. They are the boston wedding limousine pros! Wherever your wedding may be, Accent Limousine is the limo service to call in Massachusetts.
Happy reading!
