Salem Athenaeum - 337 Essex St.

Though its origins trace as far back as the 1760s, the Salem Athenaeum, as we know it today, was founded in 1810. One of the United States' oldest membership libraries, the Athenaeum has boasted among its members such prominent figures as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Nathaniel Bowditch, and Frank W. Benson, just to name a few.

In the 1850's, this library found its first long-term home at Plummer Hall on Essex Street until 1905, and it has subsequently been housed in this building since 1907. To this day, the Salem Athenaeum is an important fixture in Salem's community of writers -- including poets, and Massachusetts Book Award must-read authors, Jennifer Colella Martelli (My Tarantella, 2018) and Cindy Veach (Gloved Against Blood, 2017).

This library is the meeting place for the Salem Writer's Group, as well as home to the Salem Poetry Seminar since its inception in 2000.

For the final stop of this tour, please continue down Essex St. The Salem Public Library will be across the street, on your right.