Boston Public Library

Completed in 1895, the Boston Public Library at Copley Square is a major architectural landmark. However, this courtyard was the source of considerable controversy when architect Charles Follen McKim proposed installing a statue in the pool in the foreground.

The statue, "Bacchante and Infant Faun," caused an uproar among many 19th century Bostonians because of its depiction of nudity and drunkenness. It was briefly installed here for two weeks in the fall of 1896, but it was then placed in storage and, a year later, transferred to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

These two photos show the courtyard in 1896 (without the statue), and in 2021. The pool remained empty for over a century, but in 1999 a replica of the original statue was installed here, and it is shown in the present-day scene.

Historic image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.