Honan-Allston Library

Description

The Honan-Allston branch of the Boston Public Library is located at 300 North Harvard Street in Lower Allston. The 57000sqft building opened in 2001 at a cost of $6.5 million, replacing a former branch closed in 1981. The library itself contains an area of 20000sqft. The materials used to build the library include slate panels, shingles and rough sculpings, unfinished iron-wood cladding, and wood windows.The Honan-Allston branch has more than 50,000 items for adults, teenagers and children. There is a large literacy collection, as well as more than 100 newspapers and magazines subscriptions. The Honan-Allston Branch has partnered with the Jackson Mann School and the Jackson Mann Community Center as part of Mayor Menino’s Community Learning Initiative, a multi-department collaboration aimed at helping Boston’s youth reach their full capacity by combining learning and recreation.The library is accessible on public transportation via the MBTA Bus 66 route, which stops directly at the building.HistoryLibrary service began in 1889 in a delivery station in Frank Howe's drugstore at 26 Franklin Street. Horse-drawn carriages delivered books from other branch libraries to local businesses, which in turn displayed the books for customers. The demand for books increased as the delivery station grew, and volunteers organized expanded library services. In 1905, the Allston Reading Room at 354 Cambridge Street replaced the 16-year-old delivery station. A Boston Public Library librarian staffed the reading room. It became a full-service branch of the Boston Public Library in 1924.The branch moved to rented space at 161 Harvard Avenue in 1929, and in 1979 celebrated its 90th anniversary. In 1981, amid statewide budget cuts, the branch was closed. Neighborhood groups lobbied for its reinstatement, however. In 1993, Mayor Menino said he would advocate construction of a new branch in the neighborhood. On January 19, 2000, ground was broken for the new facility. Designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates, the branch officially opened on June 16, 2001. On March 13, 2003, the branch was renamed the Honan-Allston branch in honor of the late City Councilor Brian Honan, who died in 2002. He served Brighton and Allston’s District 9 from 1996-2002. In 2006, tree guards and bicycle racks designed by sculptor Rich Duca were added to the property.