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Posted by: Matt Raymond
It isn’t unusual for docents like Malcolm O’Hagan to find that they have inspired visitors after a tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building. (I have written about such inspiration before.) It is, after all, one of the great buildings at the heart of one of the great institutions of the world. But what wasn’t expected …
Posted in: Poetry, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Matt Raymond
Time was, the most common question we would get at the Library of Congress was, “Where are all the books?” (The answer is here.) But a new question has begun to rival that query in frequency: “Where is the ‘Book of Secrets’?” Well, for the next month, at least, you can find it at the …
Posted in: Books, Events, Film, News, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Matt Raymond
The DVD for “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” isn’t released until Tuesday, May 20, but we here at one of the chief locations in the film managed to get our hands on a copy. The two-disc collectors’ edition and the Blu-Ray edition include a bonus feature titled “Inside the Library of Congress,” and I have …
Posted in: Curators, News, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Matt Raymond
There is so much history around this sprawling place that sometimes a milestone or two worth mentioning will slip beneath the radar. The Politico reported that yesterday (Nov. 1) was the 110th anniversary of the opening of the Library of Congress?s Thomas Jefferson Building on Capitol Hill (although the ?TJB? moniker wouldn?t come until many …
Posted in: History, New Visitors Experience, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Matt Raymond
While we prepare for the last long weekend of the summer ? or shop for school supplies ? let us pause to remember the historic significance of Labor Day and the men and women who fought for workers? rights. In 1894, Congress passed legislation making Labor Day ? the first Monday in September ? a …
Posted in: Events, History, LC Web site, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Matt Raymond
A partial image of page 1 of the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, with a gradient fade applied A couple of notes about recent TV appearances, and then an on-topic digression (which is after the jump). First of all, as previously mentioned, Dr. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, was the guest July 1 …
Posted in: Exhibitions, History, New Visitors Experience, News, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Matt Raymond
A rare opportunity surfaced the other day to go on a tour of the dome of the Thomas Jefferson Building, so ? as you might imagine ? I leapt on it in a heartbeat. Not only did it offer a unique vantage on Washington, D.C., (especially the Capitol across First Street, along with the Capitol …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Matt Raymond
The “Swamp” blog of the Chicago Tribune’s Washington, D.C., bureau reports on the favored tourist destinations of Rep. Peter Roskam: In keeping with Roskam’s fiscally conservative credentials (and, to be fair, the general spirit of tourist attractions in Washington), everything on the list is free to enter. Among the highlights, with Roskam’s commentary: No. 3, …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Congress, News, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Matt Raymond
Speaking of “great halls,” I was just over in our very own Great Hall and thought that I would post a quick pic that I took. Such a gorgeous building — even a novice shutterbug like me can’t mess it up. You wouldn’t necessarily know it from this shot, but the place is teeming with …
Posted in: Thomas Jefferson Building