On a trip to Boston a few years ago — the first time I really made any effort to get to know the city — I was deeply impressed, not to say stunned, by the architecture with which this historic place abounds, particularly in its religious and cultural buildings that are intended for the general public. It got me thinking about how radically different was the attitude of our forefathers when it came to the erection and ornamentation of edifices. For them, public buildings are far more than the functionality offered by roofs, walls, doors, windows, and rooms. Such buildings embody and represent worthy ideals shared by many; they inspire viewers and impress visitors; they convey a sense of the grandeur of man's intellectual, cultural, and religious aspirations, which are the highest activities of the rational animal. These buildings are built to witness to a common vision of what is best as well as to help a society come to see what matters most. The gifts and sacrifices that make them possible are rewarded by the service (as it were) that these works of art subsequently render to the public, decade after decade, century after century, in both subtle and obvious ways.
My example will be the Boston Public Library.
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| The front of the library, looking towards Trinity Church |
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| The grand stairway |
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| The main reading hall |
