Photo: Handy, Levin C. (Levin Corbin), 1855-1932, photographer · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons
Library · Washington, D.C., United States
Library of Congress (Thomas Jefferson Building)
- Dated
- Dated 1890–97
- Declared purpose
- National library
- Today
- Survives, still the Library of Congress
- Build time
- About 7 years (1890–97)
- Region
- United States
- Architect of record
- John L. Smithmeyer, architect: about 41 when credited (1873, born 1832). Build time on record: about 7 years (1890–97).; Paul J. Pelz, architect: about 32 when credited (1873, born 1841). Build time on record: about 7 years (1890–97).All architects of record →
- On the list as
- Documented
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
A domed Italian Renaissance library with a reading room under a great dome, credited to Smithmeyer and Pelz, the same pair as Georgetown's Healy Hall.
Interiors beyond the timeline
Murals, mosaics and carved marble cover almost every surface. Researchers ask how this much decoration was done in about seven years.
The same two names
Smithmeyer and Pelz are also credited with Healy Hall. The question: how did one small firm produce two landmarks a few miles apart?
Questions worth asking
- Where were the artisans for this much interior work?
Possible original uses
- Library or archive
- Assembly hall
What the photos show
Builders at work above the second level of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building during its construction LCCN20136459361891 · Public domain
Builders at work on the rusticated stone walls of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building during its construction; U.S. Capitol in the background LCCN20136459341890 · Public domain
Construction of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 19, 1893 LCCN20076640451893date QS:P571,+1893-0 · Public domain
Marine One 170120-D-NA975-0122Taken on 20 January 2017 · Public domain
Sources
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
