What Is the Providence Athenæum?
An athenæum is a library, modeled off the Greek Athēnaîon, a temple of learning dedicated to Athena!
What Makes It Historical?
Before libraries were public resources, they were supported by members or shareholders, a system that’s still reflected in library cards! Anyone could visit and read, but only members could check out books. The Providence Athenæum was one such membership library, designed in 1838 by William Strickland, using the same Greek Revival style he’d later apply in the “Athens of the South” as the Tennessee State Capitol!
Once up and running, the Providence Athenæum was frequented by the likes of H.P. Lovecraft, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Edgar Allan Poe, who scrawled his name in one of the books while flirting with Sarah Helen Whitman! Today, that book, along with a first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and a 23-volume study of Egypt commissioned by Napoleon, among others, make up the Athenaæum’s rare book collection! It’s also got librarian, Mary Angell’s, handwritten card catalog for the over 56,000 volumes, intact since 1872, plus one of America’s first drinking fountains, donated by Anna Eddy Richmond in 1873!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
- Become a member of the Providence Athenæum!
- Donate to the Providence Athenæum!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
251 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the Athenaæum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM! The rest of the year, it has the same hours, plus being open on Sundays from 11:00 AM until 5:00 PM!
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