Boston Public Library
John Adams' personal 3,800-volume library lives here — and any Massachusetts adult can walk in and access it.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Boston offline.
Founded in 1848, the Central Branch in Copley Square is the third-largest public library in the US, with over 1.7 million rare books and manuscripts. It holds Shakespeare's First Folio, medieval manuscripts, and deep collections on colonial Boston and the Civil War — research-grade holdings in a city-designated landmark that is free to enter.
What to look for
- Shakespeare's First Folio and early quartos from the rare books collection
- John Adams' personal 3,800-volume library, held in the research collection
- Medieval manuscripts and incunabula among the 1.7 million rare items in the research stacks
Central Branch is at Copley Square; all adult Massachusetts residents have full borrowing and research privileges.
Boston Public Library is one of 31 sights worth the detour in Boston, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Boston pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts BostonFour hundred and fifty thousand works of art under one roof — one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas.
- TD GardenThe subway stops underneath it — TD Garden is built directly above MBTA's North Station, so you step off the train and you are already at the door.
- Harvard College ObservatoryOn the night of July 16-17, 1850, astronomers here made the first daguerreotype of a star — Vega — through a telescope that was the largest in North America.
- Fenway ParkThe oldest active ballpark in MLB, where a cramped city block accidentally invented some of baseball's most famous features.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIn 1990, thieves walked out with thirteen works worth $500 million — none have ever come back, and the case is still open.
- Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & SmithsonianThe lab that produced the first-ever image of a black hole sits right on the Harvard campus.