Talk:Boston Central Library

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Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 18:16, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Untitled

Nothing mentioned about the two sculptures out front!? There's a image of one "Personification of "Science"" but nothing more. It'd be great if someone in the know could add more info on these (date installed, artist, donor, titles, etc). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.172.19.51 (talk) 18:51, 18 September 2011 (UTC)

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Article rewrite and rename

As a heads up to anyone watching this page, I'm currently rewriting this article in my sandbox and plan to publish the changes in a few days. However, I should note that when I researched this building, I noticed that most of the sources refer to it as the Boston Central Library or the Copley Square branch, and that "Central Library" or "Boston Central Library" seems to be the WP:COMMONNAME. The name "McKim Building" doesn't actually seem to appear in that many sources; in fact, that name is usually used only to differentiate the original section of the building from the Johnson Building next to it. Furthermore, sources often treat the Johnson and McKim buildings as a single structure, the Central Library.

Once I'm done with my rewrite, I'm planning to move this page to reflect the above. – Epicgenius (talk) 03:16, 8 July 2025 (UTC)

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by AirshipJungleman29 talk 16:22, 18 August 2025 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

The Boston Central Library

• ... that after the Boston Central Library opened to the public, it took more than two decades to complete the decorations? Source: Whitehill, Walter Muir (1956). Boston Public Library : a Centennial History. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 191-192
  • ALT1: ... that a list of names inscribed on the Boston Central Library had to be removed because they formed an acrostic? Source: Whitehill 1956, pp. 156–157.
  • ALT2: ... that a quarry that had supplied stone for the original Boston Central Library was reopened to supply stone for its annex? Source: Rosenbloom, Joseph (December 12, 1972). "Boston dedicates library annex—massive 10-floor edifice of books". Boston Globe. p. 3.
  • ALT3: ... that the architectural style of the Boston Central Library's McKim Building was influenced by a set of New York houses? Source: Boston Public Library; Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report (PDF) (Report). Boston Landmarks Commission. December 12, 2000. p. 40.
  • ALT4: ... that the two sections of the Boston Central Library were compared to "an elephant squiring a gazelle" down the street? Source: Campbell, Robert (May 21, 1991). "At Kennedy Library, new wing's a winner". Boston Globe.
  • ALT5: ... that work on the Boston Central Library's foundations began before plans were complete, because the Boston Public Library would otherwise have lost the site? Source: Whitehill 1956, p. 139.
  • ALT6: ... that work on the Boston Central Library's foundations began the day the Boston Public Library was set to lose the site? Source: Whitehill 1956, p. 139.
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Melanzane al cioccolato
  • Comment: Thanks to LEvalyn for suggesting some of the hooks.

5x expanded by Epicgenius (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 736 past nominations.

Epicgenius (talk) 03:22, 15 July 2025 (UTC).

• General eligibility:
• New enough:
• Long enough:
• Other problems:

Policy compliance:

• Adequate sourcing:
• Neutral:
• Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:
• Other problems:

Hook eligibility:

• Cited:
• Interesting:
• Other problems:

Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
Freely licensed: Used in article: Clear at 100px:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Recently expanded, interesting hooks, QPQ is met, and a nice image. Really good work on this article EpicGenius! It probably felt so great to see that green 187,000+ added. Jon698 (talk) 19:24, 17 July 2025 (UTC)

monumental inscriptions

There used to be a discussion of the inscriptions but I can't find it in the present text. Where did it go? 207.180.169.36 (talk) 05:05, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

This material is in the "Exterior" subsection of the McKim Building section. The exact inscriptions are in footnote [h]. Previously, the main text focused too heavily on the inscriptions and not on the design of the facade itself. Since the inscriptions themselves are just one part of the facade, the text has been streamlined to give due weight to other aspects of the design. Epicgenius (talk) 15:14, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

As it stands now, the article is drowning in barely relevant detail, and hides one of the few features likely to be noticed by anyone who is not an architect (or architectural historian). Tens of thousands of people pass by that façade every day! 128.30.9.76 (talk) 21:08, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Barely relevant to you, maybe, but all the information I added is highly relevant to the topic. As I said above, highlighting only the inscriptions when the facade has so many other decorations is still a violation of an actual policy, WP:DUE. Epicgenius (talk) 21:25, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

reference to the MFA

The MFA hasn't been in Copley Square since 1909, so I deleted the claim that it's across from the library. The former location might be relevant to the main article about Copley Square, or to one about the museum, but not here. Vicki Rosenzweig (talk) 01:58, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

@Vicki Rosenzweig, thanks for catching that. The source mistakenly presented the MFA as still being in Copley Square, and I forgot to double-check it. – Epicgenius (talk) 03:08, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

GA review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Boston Central Library/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

The article is well-sourced, with strong coverage of the library’s collections, architecture, and recent renovation. To reach Good Article level, the lead should preview all major themes; historical role, usage statistics, and interior design/art features should be expanded; and more visuals/maps would help. These are goals that seem achievable within a hold period. Crystalite13 (talk · contribs) 01:46, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

@Epicgenius Crystalite13 (talk) 01:47, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

Thanks. I can take a look at expanding the lead in a bit. Unfortunately there isn't much I can do about visuals and maps, though I can try to look for old public domain images and/or freely licensed pics. Epicgenius (talk) 02:07, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

Good luck! Crystalite13 (talk) 04:06, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

With regards to the individual points:

• the lead should preview all major themes - I've now expanded the lead to summarize the sections.
• historical role, usage statistics, and interior design/art features should be expanded - I added a bit about current visitation numbers; the historic visitation numbers are already in the article. The page already discusses the interior design and artwork in detail, which I've now summarized in the lead. Not sure what to do regarding "historical role", though, as this building is and always has been a library from day one.
• more visuals/maps would help - I've added some images and am looking for additional maps.

– Epicgenius (talk) 14:44, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

Ok, good! At this point I have no concerns. Sources look okay and there is little plagiarism percent on the page. Prose is definitely lengthy enough, so this will be promoted. You are free to continue on your hunt for maps, though! Crystalite13 (talk) 18:18, 14 October 2025 (UTC)