The central branch of the city's library system is an architectural and intellectual monument. The original 1895 building, a National Historic Landmark designed by Charles F. McKim, is an Italian Renaissance-style masterpiece that fairly drips with art. The lobby doors are the work of Daniel Chester French (who also designed the Abraham Lincoln statue in the memorial in Washington, the Minute Man statue in Concord, and the John Harvard statue in Cambridge). The murals are by John Singer Sargent and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, among others. Visit the lovely courtyard or peek at it from a window on the stairs. The adjoining addition, of the same height and material (pink granite), was designed by Philip Johnson and opened in 1972. The lobby holds changing exhibits. The restaurant, Novel, serves lunch and afternoon tea Monday through Friday, and Sebastian's Map Room Café is open 9am to 5pm Monday through Saturday.

Free Art & Architecture Tours (www.bpl.org/guides/tours.htm) begin Monday at 2:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm, Friday and Saturday at 11am, with an additional tour October through May on Sunday at 2pm. Visit the website and click "Guides to the Library" to find information about the McKim building. Call tel. 617/536-5400, ext. 2216, to arrange group tours.