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The Athenĉum
is a member supported, not-for-profit, special
collections library founded in 1814 to collect
materials "connected with the history and
antiquities of America, and the useful arts, and
generally to disseminate useful knowledge" for
public benefit.
Annually
the Athenĉum's nationally significant collections
attract thousands of readers: graduate students and
senior scholars, architects, interior designers,
museum curators, and private owners of historic
buildings.
The
research library is open to qualified readers without
charge, and membership is not required to gain access.
The Athenĉum receives no public funding, but it
provides the Philadelphia region with a resource of
first resort on matters of architecture and interior
design history, particularly for the period 1800 to
1945.
The
handsomely restored National Historic Landmark
building near Independence Hall is operated as an
historic site museum furnished with American fine and
decorative arts from the first half of the nineteenth
century; it is open to be toured by the public without
charge.
The Athenĉum
also offers diverse programs of public education and
community outreach. It sponsors lectures and changing
exhibitions; it publishes books that reflect the
institution's collecting interests; and it administers
several trusts that provide awards and research grants
to recognize literary achievement in Philadelphia and
to encourage outstanding scholarship in architectural
history throughout the United States.
Copyright
2008
The Athenĉum of Philadelphia
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