Outside the 1972 addition to the headquarters building of the Boston Public Library.
The front of the grand headquarters/main branch of the Boston Public Library, on Copley Square, one of America’s most beautiful public places. Designed by Charles McKim, the building was opened in 1895 as “a palace for the people.’’
(The editor of New England Diary, Robert Whitcomb, is chairman of The Boston Guardian.)
“Unhoused Bostonians continue to congregate around the main branch of the city library, a trend that’s unlikely to abate even if city housing investments start to pay off.
“Use of the sidewalk on Boylston Street beside the Boston Public Library (BPL) as a gathering spot for Boston’s homeless has produced some friction with passersby, mostly stemming from occasionally hazardous litter and some uncomfortable interactions with other library patrons.
“The BPL, city government and neighborhood groups have concentrated outreach efforts in the area, but it’s never gotten close to the level of obstruction and concern garnered at hotspots like Mass and Cass.’’
