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Posted by: Neely Tucker
The reading room of the African and Middle Eastern Division — also known as the Pavilion of the Seals — transports visitors across time and continents, immersing them in the late 19th-century United States, classical Greece and Rome and societies that emerged across the globe.
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, African and Middle Eastern Division, Architecture, Art and Graphic Design, LCM, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Since 1897 the Library's Main Reading Room has been the dazzling center of the Library's collections. Its circular design was inpsired by the British Museum Library, its art based on the classics of Western civiilization and its mission settled on fulfilling the American ideal of knowledge and education. Today, although much of the Library's collections have spread to other reading rooms and are available online, it is still a vibrant research center and the go-to tourist attraction for visitors.
Posted in: Architecture, Congressional Research Service, LCM, Library Work and Employees, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library’s Jefferson Building was the largest library building in the world when it opened in 1897; today, it’s still one of the world’s most beautiful libraries. Want some inside advice about what to see? Check out some favorite spots from the Library's visitor engagement staff.
Posted in: Architecture, Exhibitions, Libraries, Library Work and Employees, New Visitors Experience, Thomas Jefferson
Posted by: Maria Peña
In 1791, President George Washington entrusted French-born American architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant with designing a plan for the nation’s capital. L'Enfant's map became the blueprint for the nation's distinctive capital city, with most of its features still evident today.
Posted in: American Revolution, Architecture, Capitol Hill, George Washington, LCM, Washington DC
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The photographer John Margolies chronicled the weird and wonderful ways American businesses advertised themselves along the nation's roadways in the latter half of the 20th century. He felt dinosaur-shaped gas stations and a giant gunslinging shrimp advertising a restaurant weren't just roadside kitsch but a genuine expression of the national identity. The Library preserves more than 11,000 of his images.
Posted in: Architecture, Collections, LCM, Photos
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Richard Morris Hunt was the iconic American architect of the Gilded Age, designing estates that still have their own names – Biltmore, The Breakers, Marble House. His collection of more than 15,000 items is preserved at the Library. The collection is the subject of a new Library video as well as a six-month exhibit in Newport, Rhode Island, where he designed several palatial estates.
Posted in: Architecture, Library Work and Employees, Publishing Office
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
This article also appears in the March-April issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. The Thomas Jefferson Building has awed visitors ever since it opened its doors in 1897. The grand building is more than a marvel of art and architecture, though; it’s also a monument to function and safety — fire safety in particular. …
Posted in: Architecture, Capitol Hill, LCM, Libraries, Library Work and Employees, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library has a fascinating collection of architectural drawings going back as far as the 1600s, many of which were never built. They offer a look into what could have been had the stars aligned. A futuristic different Ellis Island, a Gothic Library of Congress and a Lower Manhattan Expressway are just some of the elaborate designs that never came to be, by architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Robert Mills and Paul Rudolph.
Posted in: Architecture, LCM, Washington DC
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
In 1983, Chinese American architect I.M. Pei was commissioned to devise a solution to a growing problem in France: the outdated entrance to the Louvre museum in Paris no longer could accommodate increasing throngs of visitors. His solution of a glass pyramid, initially controversial, is now considered iconic, adding a dazzling touch to a city renowned for its architecture.
Posted in: Architecture, Asian American, LCM