Inside Washington DC's most beautiful building, the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is often said to have the most beautiful interior in Washington. It's like a cathedral, except it's a library. Unfortunately it's notoriously hard to photograph, because they don’t allow photography during reading hours.
But a couple of weekends ago they hosted an open house, during which cameras were allowed. I took the opportunity and ended up with these pictures.
Here's the library's most famous room, the Main Reading Room:
Only slightly less famous is the Great Hall:
The 2nd floor of the Great Hall has a mezzanine, which is just as awesome:
Below the mezzanine there are some anterooms, also amazing:
In one of the anterooms they have one of the original Gutenburg Bibles.
Even the back hallways are freaking gorgeous:
And then there's the catalog room, which isn't even the least bit grand, but is a whole different kind of beautiful:
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Things like this make you proud to be American... until you try to imagine the collective conservative screech that would go up if anyone dared propose a public building this gorgeous or elaborate nowadays.
__________________ "To sustain the life of a large, modern city in this cloying, clinging heat is an amazing achievement. It is no wonder that the white men and women in Greenville walk with a slow, dragging pride, as if they had taken up a challenge and intended to defy it without end." -- Rebecca West for The New Yorker, 1947
Things like this make you proud to be American... until you try to imagine the collective conservative screech that would go up if anyone dared propose a public building this gorgeous or elaborate nowadays.
Would it even be possible? I'd imagine much of the artistry and craftsmanship needed to build such a structure has been lost.
A regret of mine is that I still haven't been to the building.
Speaking of often overlooked pieces of architecture in the city, the National Building Museum is the other one that needs to be seen more. I remember when Hillary Clinton gave her Democratic primary concession speech in the building, and being embarrassed I had no idea the place existed.
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Things like this make you proud to be American... until you try to imagine the collective conservative screech that would go up if anyone dared propose a public building this gorgeous or elaborate nowadays.
I was thinking the same thing. If this didn't exist and someone proposed it, after they all laughed to the point of tears, they'd call him the biggest Euro-loving socialist in the history of the world! Then they'd order up a jumbo freedom fries and work on a bill to increase spending at the D.O.D.
A regret of mine is that I still haven't been to the building.
Speaking of often overlooked pieces of architecture in the city, the National Building Museum is the other one that needs to be seen more. I remember when Hillary Clinton gave her Democratic primary concession speech in the building, and being embarrassed I had no idea the place existed.
That one I did get to. Really excellent museum and fantastic building.
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Amazing building porn. It could only be this ornate if it were built in America's guilded age which apparently it was. The marble is so great:
Am I being a pessimist or a realist by feeling slightly nervous while viewing these pics of the greatest collection of knowledge and thinking about it going up in flames (or more likely, nuclear ICBMs) such as the great ancient library of Alexandria, Egypt?
Watch this classic clip with Carl Sagan if you're not familiar, for a heart wrenching and tragic tale of world history.
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