The Thomas Jefferson Building, containing some of the richest public interiors in the United States, is a collection of the work of classically trained American sculptors and painters of the American Renaissance, 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.
The Library of Congress began in 1800 with a small portion to buy reference books. Unlike Philadelphia or New York where Congress had previously met, there were no libraries in the city of Washington so one was created out of necessity. To replenish the collection that was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812, Congress purchased Thomas Jefferson's 6,487 …show more content…
Despite enlargements and remodeling, there was never enough space to shelve all the collections and it was decided in 1886 to move the library into its own building. The grand design of the library's Thomas Jefferson Building was based on the Paris Opera House and seemed to show America's faith in learning and knowledge. The architects who worked on the building were John L. Smithmeyer, Paul J. Pelz, and later, Edward Pearce Casey.
With its attention of architecture, art, decoration and ambition, the Library of Congress' Jefferson Building ranks among America's greatest achievements. The magnificence of the building, its size and scope, the impressive artwork and fascinating sculpture left many Americans breathless. Many saw the new building as the fulfillment of American intellectual promise and the perfection of American …show more content…
Today, however, many recognize it as an example of the Beaux Arts style, which is theatrical, heavily ornamented and kinetic. It is a style perfectly suited to a young and wealthy nation. The materials consist of many varieties of marble, granite, bronze, gold, mahogany, which were expensive but would last a thousand years. In plan the Jefferson Building is a hollow rectangle with a rotunda, book stacks and four courtyards occupying the core. The central block is broadly comparable to the Palais Garnier in Paris, a similarly ambitious expression of triumphant cultural nationalism in the Beaux-Arts style. Two of the courtyards have been filled with additional book stacks while another was partially filled with a recital hall. Corner and central pavilions are connected by curtains and create five section compositions on the west and east fronts. These division allow for people to have their own private spaces for learning. The front of the Thomas Jefferson building faces the Capitol Building, rising four stories above grade with a low dome covering the central reading room. A monumental split stair featuring the Neptune Fountain rises in multiple flights to the main entrance, with three pairs of sculpted bronze doors. The Court of the