I recently made a second trip to the U.S. Capitol Building. The Capitol museum exhibits were fascinating because I didn’t know how dramatically the Capitol Hill campus changed over the years.
Apparently the iconic D.C. row houses we see today were not as common as the wooden flophouses that used to dominate the city. The clearance efforts remind me a lot of the Minneapolis skid row documentary from a few years ago — gentrification before it had a name?
After meandering through the exhibits, I followed the tunnel to the Library of Congress, which was quite the surprise.
The atrium of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
Ceiling detail in the atrium of the Library of Congress.
The reading room of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Stairwell detail from the atrium of the Library of Congress.
A hallway in the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress is beautiful.
There are two main rooms — the reading room and the grand atrium — with several wings containing exhibits. I was a little surprised that it is a functional library, because so much of the building seems to be dedicated to open grand halls.
The atrium of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
Pretty, but not the place to study.
There’s something strange about going through a security check to get to a study space, so I’m not sure if I would study at the Library of Congress.
However, not all of my classmates agree — I ran into three Georgetown law students while retrieving my coat from coat check. Maybe they know something I don’t? I’ll stick of the National Portrait Portrait Gallery for now. 📚
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