Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library features an arched facade of Milford granite that echoes the style of a Roman palace. It houses over twenty million items and was the first large free municipal library in the United States. When the building opened in eighteen ninety-five, architect Charles McKim famously insisted that the heavy bronze entrance doors be cast without the names of the sculptors. He wanted the public to focus entirely on the craftsmanship, not the vanity of the men who created them.