The Athenaeum

The Providence Athenaeum, or, the "Ath," is the combination of an older Providence Athenaeum, established in 1831, and the Providence Library Company, which was established in 1753. The two organizations discontinued and then merged together forming the collection in today’s Providence Athenaeum. A haunt of literary greats.

On the main floor, huge columns of shelves separate books by genre, and fill the walls of the vast room. An activity involving Edgar Allan Poe and his Raven is set up on the main table at the front of the room, and at a few other tables along the sides. A bust of Edgar Allan Poe is situated on the front table, sided by the activity named after his famous poem.

Behind the Raven activity is a large staircase with dark carpet. Descending these stairs to the lowest floor of the Athenaeum gives access to the Biblio Exhibit. This presentation collects the oldest, largest, and weirdest volumes the library has to offer. Weird Tales, which was a magazine founded by J.C. Henneberger and J.M. Lasinger in late 1922, is under a glass enclosure in this exhibit. H.P. Lovecraft, a native of Providence, visited the Ath often while he was alive, and wrote for Weird Tales, submitting such stories as "The Call of Cthulhu," and "The Rats in the Walls."

Lovecraft lived half a block away from the Athenaeum, in College Street. The Ath is written about in many of Lovecraft’s stories and is a primary subject of many letters he wrote. The Athenaeum allowed Lovecraft to leave the unfortunately sad life he lived outside and to escape from it in a silent musty atmosphere, reading. His time spent at the Ath helped him become a better writer and was the source for much of his literary inspiration. Because of this, the Providence Athenaeum displays a bust of Lovecraft (donated in 2013) near the main entrance, telling visitors his story.

Above are directions to the Providence Athenaeum. When you arrive, you must find street parking in a close vicinity to the building and walk to the actual studio. When visiting the Ath, you can also walk about 5 minutes to the Fleur-de-lys Studio from that location, eliminating the need to find another parking spot when visiting both locations.