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Sunday, October 30, 2022

Gastropod Fossils at Boston Public Library McKim Building

 

When I visited the Boston Public Library's McKim Building in August 2022, I found it to be an artistic and geological wonder. So many gastropod fossils embedded in the polished limestone floor tiles. The complex is known as the Central Library in Copley Square of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The building completed in 1895 with the chief architect being Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909).


When visiting The Abbey Room, after viewing artist Edwin Austin Abbey's (1852-1911) depiction of Sir Galahad's Quest for the Holy Grail composed of 15 panels, look at the checkerboard pattern on the floor. It consists of Istrian limestone (Croatia) and red Verona marble (Italy).


Learn more about the stone used in the McKim Building at this web site: 

https://quarriesandbeyond.org/states/ia/ia-structures.html

 

 While at the library check out the 1881 portrait of American journalist/lecturer Kate Field (1838-1896) painted by Francis Davis Millet (1846-1912). Millet died on April 15, 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank in the north Atlantic ocean.