History of the McKim Building: Exterior

The McKim Building is notable for its perfect proportions. The Library is 225 feet long, 227 feet deep and its height from the sidewalk to the top of the cornice is 70 feet. Granite quarried in Milford, MA was used for the exterior. It was first planned to construct all 4 walls from granite but in the end the rear wall was built of brick due to the limitations of the lot.

The whole of the façade is raised upon a broad, granite platform which elevates the building slightly above Copley Square. The stairs up the platform are flanked by two large statues on the platforms in front of the Library representing Art and Science. These were sculpted by the Boston artist Bela Pratt and were set in place in 1912.

The building has a sloping red tile roof with green copper cresting, magnificent arched windows, a triple-arched main entrance and clusters of branching wrought-iron lanterns. Medallions representing trade devices of early printers and booksellers were carved into the spandrels of the window arches and the head of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom carved in the central keystone were created by Domingo Mora and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Sculpted in granite over the three entrance arches are the seals of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Library, and the City of Boston, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 

Monumental inscriptions, similar to those found on basilicas and monuments in ancient Rome, are engraved in the entablature on each of the main building's three façades. On the south is inscribed: "MDCCCLII • FOUNDED THROUGH THE MUNIFICENCE AND PUBLIC SPIRIT OF CITIZENS"; on the east: "THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON • BUILT BY THE PEOPLE AND DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING • A.D. MDCCCLXXXVIII"; and on the north: "THE COMMONWEALTH REQUIRES THE EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE AS THE SAFEGUARD OF ORDER AND LIBERTY". The last quotation has been attributed to the library's Board of Trustees. Another inscription, above the keystone of the central entrance, proclaims: "FREE TO ALL". Below each second-story arched window on the three façades are inscribed lists of the names of great historical writers, artists, scientists, philosophers, and statesmen. For a list of the names please see An index to the persons commemorated by inscriptions or works of art in the Central Library building of the Boston Public Library by Frank Jones.