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Category: Pic of the Week

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

A Walking Tour of St. Elizabeths Hospital

Posted by: Robert Brammer

In May, I  took a walking tour of the western campus of St. Elizabeths (there is no apostrophe) hospital in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The tour was hosted by the D.C. Preservation League. The hospital is situated high above the city, providing the panoramic view you see pictured below. Dorothea Dix, an advocate for the mentally ill …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Pic of the Week – The Digital Commons at the D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Branch Library

Posted by: Robert Brammer

We enjoy bringing you photos of the unique libraries, ancient and modern, that we encounter during our travels. In celebration of this year’s National Library Week theme, “lives change @ your library,”  we bring you photos of a unique library close to home. Since the inception of the personal computer and the rise of the internet, public …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Stereoview of the Madison Building Closed Stacks

Posted by: Robert Brammer

The Law Library of Congress is the largest law library in the world, and much of its vast collection is housed in the Madison Building’s sub-basement stacks. Whenever a patron requests an item that does not have “RR” at the end of the call number, our expert staff combs through our vast collection of over 2.5 million volumes to locate the item …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

“I’ll be damned if I don’t do it!”: The Failed Assassination Attempt on President Andrew Jackson

Posted by: Robert Brammer

On January 30, 1835, an unemployed painter by the name of Richard Lawrence made the first attempt on the life of a sitting U.S. President. That damp, misty day, President Andrew Jackson had traveled to the Capitol Building to attend a Congressional funeral in the House Wing. As the President exited the funeral, he approached …