In 1879, the people of Malden opened the Malden Public Library in a small room in the Town Hall. The library was housed there until Malden's first mayor, Elisha S. Converse and his wife, Mary, donated money to build the Converse Memorial Building.
Opened in October of 1885, the Converse Memorial Building was designed by renowned architect H.H. Richardson. The building housed the library as well as an art gallery. Today the majority of the library's collection is housed in the new addition which opened in June of 1996.
Park Street entrance showing new and old buildings