Thomas Jefferson Building
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
buildings, the Thomas Jefferson Building was built between 1890 and 1897. It is known for its classicizing facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
and elaborately decorated interior. John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz
Paul J. Pelz
Paul Johannes Pelz was a German-American architect. He is best known as architect of the main building of the Library of Congress.-Life and career:...
, who won the competition for the architectural plans of the library in 1873, continued developing the design until final submission in 1892 at which point it was turned over to Edward Pearce Casey. Casey was the son of Brig. Gen. Thomas Lincoln Casey, Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Library of Congress Building as it was at first known, is located on First Street SE, between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Street in Washington, DC.
The Thomas Jefferson Building, containing some of the richest public interiors in the United States, is a compendium of the work of classically-trained American sculptors and painters of the "American Renaissance
American Renaissance
In the history of American architecture and the arts, the American Renaissance was the period in 1835-1880 characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance humanism...
", in programs of symbolic content that exhibited the progress of civilization, personified in Great Men and culminating in the American official culture of the Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
; the programs were in many cases set out by the Librarian of Congress, Ainsworth Rand Spofford
Ainsworth Rand Spofford
Ainsworth Rand Spofford was an American journalist and publisher. He was the sixth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1864 to 1897.-Early years:...
. The central block is broadly comparable to the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in Paris, a similarly ambitious expression of triumphant cultural nationalism in the Beaux-Arts style that had triumphed at the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Chicago, 1893. On the exterior, sculptured portrait heads that were considered typical of the world's races
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
were installed as keystones on the main storey's window arches. The Court of Neptune Fountain
The Court of Neptune Fountain
The Court of Neptune Fountain is a group of bronze sculptures, by Roland Hinton Perry in 1897-1898.They are located at the Library of Congress, at Independence Avenue and 1st St S.E. Washington, D.C. The god Neptune is flanked by figures of the Tritons , each blowing a conch shell.-External...
centered on the entrance front invites comparison with the Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 26 metres high and 20 metres wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world....
; its sculptor was Roland Hinton Perry
Roland Hinton Perry
Roland Hinton Perry was an American sculptor and painter.-Background:Perry was born in New York City to George and Ione Hinton Perry, and entered the École des Beaux Arts in 1890 at the age of 19...
. The copper dome, originally gilded, was criticized at the structure's completion, as too competitive with the national Capitol Building.
History
Needing more room for its increasing collection, the Library of Congress under Librarian Ainsworth Rand SpoffordAinsworth Rand Spofford
Ainsworth Rand Spofford was an American journalist and publisher. He was the sixth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1864 to 1897.-Early years:...
suggested to the Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
that a new building be built specifically to serve as the American national library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. Prior to this the Library existed in a wing of the Capitol Building
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
. The new building was needed partly because of the growing Congress, but also partly because of the Copyright Law of 1870, which required all copyright applicants
United States copyright law
The copyright law of the United States governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the U.S. Constitution...
to send to the Library two copies of their work. This resulted in a flood of books, pamphlets, maps, music, prints and photographs. Spofford had been instrumental in the enactment of this law.
After Congress approved construction of the building in 1886, it took eleven years to complete. The building opened to the public on November 1, 1897, met with wide approval and was immediately seen as a national monument. Originally called simply the "Library of Congress Building," its name was changed on June 13, 1980 to honor former U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, who had been a key figure in the establishment of the Library in 1800. Jefferson offered to sell his personal book collection to Congress in September 1814, one month after the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
had burned the Capitol in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Capitol Page School
SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
pages formerly attended school together in the Capitol Page School located on the attic level above the Great Hall. Upon the separation of the programs (and the closure of the Supreme Court Page Program), the schools split. Senate Pages
United States Senate Page
A United States Senate Page is a non-partisan federal employee serving the United States Senate in Washington, DC. Despite the non-partisan affiliation, Pages are typically divided to serve the party that appointed them.-Selection:In order to become a US Senate Page, one must first be nominated...
now attend school in the basement of their dormitory. The House Page Program
United States House of Representatives Page
United States House of Representatives Page Program was a program run by the United States House of Representatives, under the office of the Clerk of the House, in which appointed high school juniors acted as non-partisan federal employees in the House of Representatives, providing supplemental...
was closed in August 2011. The former School's corridor is home to the official office of the Poet Laureate of the United States.
Coolidge Auditorium
The Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium, which opened in 1933, has been home to more than 2,000 concerts, primarily of classical chamber music, but occasionally also of jazz, folk music, and special presentations. Some performances make use of the Library's extensive collection of musical instruments and manuscripts. Most of the performances are free and open to the public.Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge aka Liz Coolidge , born Elizabeth Penn Sprague, was an American pianist and patron of music, especially of chamber music....
was a wealthy patron of the arts and was no relation to Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, who, coincidentally, was President of the United States at the time the original bequest for the auditorium was made in 1925.