St. John's Athenaeum

The St. John's Athenaeum (1861-1898), a non-denominational library and cultural centre, was established in 1861, three of St. John's literary organizations amalgamated to form the Athenaeum Library: the St. John's Library Society (established 1820), the Young Men's Literary and Scientific Institute (established before 1848) and the Mechanic's Institute (established before 1849). The new library opened on Water Street in March 1861, with a collection of 2500 volumes, 60 newspapers and a reading room open to both men and women. The library was also a cultural center, holding weekly lectures.

In 1875, the library relocated to a new building on Duckworth Street. The building held the library collection, a reading room, and an auditorium that seated one thousand. The ceiling was painted by Alexander Pindikowsky, the Polish artist who also painted the ceiling of the Colonial Building. The Athenaeum was lost in the great fire of 1892. An effort was quickly made to re-establish the collection and a new library was opened that winter with 1000 books. However, the smaller library lacked public support, and closed permanently in 1898. St. John's was without a public library until the Gosling Memorial Library opened in 1936.

Created - April 24, 2013

• English