Archive for the Capitol Hill Category (202 posts)

Pic of the Week: 19th Amendment Edition

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Cast members of “19: The Musical” perform during the “Shall Not Be Denied” exhibition opening. Photo: Shawn Miller.

This week marked the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote and changed American life and politics. The Library, repository of the papers of many key players in the suffrage movement, opened a yearlong exhibit about that struggle, “Shall Not Be Denied,” with a gala on June 4, the anniversary of the amendment’s ratification by the U.S. Senate in 1919. Cast members from the upcoming musical, “19,” gave the crowd a taste of the drama in music.

Inquiring Minds: Olmsted Holdings Offer Blueprint for Preserving Historical Landscapes

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Landscape historian Arleyn Levee first visited the Library’s Manuscript Reading Room in the early 1980s to consult the records of Frederick Law Olmsted and his firm. A 19th-century pioneer who developed the field of American landscape architecture, Olmsted shaped many notable sites throughout his career – New York’s Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, the […]

This Day in History: Happy Birthday LOC!

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Today, the Library of Congress celebrates its 218th birthday. On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved an appropriation of $5,000 for the purchase of “such books as may be necessary for the use of [C]ongress.” The first books purchased were ordered from London and arrived in 1801. The collection of 740 volumes and three […]

Pic of the Week: “Princess Bride” Kicks Off Outdoor Film Series

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Crowds gathered on the lawn of the Library’s Jefferson Building on July 13 to view “The Princess Bride,” undeterred by weather that was a little warm and humid, even for a Washington, D.C., summer evening. The outdoor screening kicked off a six-film series, “LOC Summer Movies on the Lawn,” showcasing modern classics that have been […]

World War I: The Library of Congress Memorial Tree

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This is a guest post by Cheryl Fox, Library of Congress archives specialist in the Manuscript Division. The Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building is bordered by a number of impressive trees. One of them, a Japanese elm at the southwest corner of the building, was planted on Dec. 17, 1921, in memory of four Library of […]

Pic of the Week: Saturdays at the Young Readers Center

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The Young Readers Center in the Library of Congress hosted a series of events Jan. 28 to celebrate its new Saturday hours of operation, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The center, which opened in October 2009, will offer more young people and their families the opportunity to experience the wonders and resources of the nation’s library. “It […]

Pic of the Week: Presidential Inauguration Treasures

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The Library is highlighting presidential inauguration history in a temporary display on view through Saturday, Feb. 4 in the rooms known as Mahogany Row, LJ-110 to LJ-113, on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Presidential treasures like the handwritten speeches of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are featured along with collections on […]