The Portsmouth Athenæum, an independent membership library, gallery and museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The building preserves material relevant to local history and sponsors exhibitions, concerts and lectures for its proprietors, scholars and the general public. It was founded in 1817 as the Portsmouth Athenæum Society, which acquired the 1805 Federal-style building, in 1823. It was designed by architect Bradbury Johnson as the office for the New Hampshire Fire & Marine Insurance Company, which went bankrupt. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2017.