Boston Public Library Bronze Doors
When you enter the Boston Public Library from Copley square you may not have paid attention to the Bronze doors that you walk through.
These doors were created by Daniel Chester French in 1897, about 20 years before he did the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial.
Click on image for a larger version.
Five Things that I learned about the doors
- Each door weighs 1500 pounds.
- Daniel Chester French was chosen to create the doors by Charles Follen McKim, the Boston Public Library main architect since they worked on eight other projects together.
- The figures on the doors represent Music and Poetry, Knowledge and Wisdom, and Truth and Romance.
- The Center door, Knowlege and Wisdom, is the one that is always open.
- The door sayings are written in old Latin, Old Latin used V for capitals and U for lower case.
It took a while for each door panel to be completed:
- 1897 - Truth and Romance (Right)
- 1898 - Knowledge and Wisdom (Center)
- 1902 - Music and Poetry (Left)
Door Sayings
SVCG Sweet Compulsion Does in Music Lie To Lull the Daughters of Necessity and Keep Unsteady Nature to Her Law
True Poetry is Like the Loadstone Which Both Attracts the Needle and Supplies it With Magnetic Power
There is in Wisdom a spirit subtil, clear in utterance, loving what is good, pure, stedfast. By Knowledge Shall, the Chambers Be Filled with all Precious and pleasant riches. (Proverbs 24:4)
Truth is The Strength and The Kingdom and The Power and the Majesty of all Ages A Romance to Rede and Drive the Night Away from me thought it Better Play than Either at Chesse or Tables