An Architectural Alphabet: Library of Congress (Scala Publishers Catalog)

AcrossthestreetfromtheUnitedStatesCapitolinWashington,DC,standstheoriginalbuildingoftheLibraryofCongress,completedin1897.TheThomasJeffersonBuilding,asitwasnamedin1980,isalandmarkbothinthenation'scapitalandinthenation'sarchitecturalheritage.Throughthemonumentalbronzeentrancedoors,intotheGreatHall,alongtheresplendentcorridorsandgalleries,anddeepintothebuilding'sincomparablestudyandexhibitionspaces,theLibraryremainsoneofthemosthandsomelydecoratedstructuresintheUnitedStates.'AnArchitecturalAlphabet:TheLibraryofConfress'opensdoorsintomanyofthesespacesandexploresout-of-the-waynooksandcranniestofindanddefinemanyunusualarchitecturaldetails,whichoftengounnoticedwithinthesixhundredthousandsquarefeetofspacethatthebuilding'shistoricwallenclose.ThischarmingbookoffersadelightfulandcaptivatingtouroftheLibrary'sart,architecture,andsculpture,createdattheendofthenineteenthcenturybysomefiftyartistsandartisans.FromAforarchtoZforzigzag,illustrationsfromcolourfulalphabetsfoundamongtheLibrary'srarebooksandmanuscriptsarepairedwithimagesofegg-and-dartmoldings,helixes,jambs,quoins,spandrels,tripods,vaults,andmore.TheLibraryofCongressendeavorstogatherarecordofhumanknowledgeandtoprovidethebroadestpossibleaccesstothatinformation.Foundedin1800fortheuseofmembersoftheUnitedStatesCongress,ithasbeenopentothepublicsince1870.Todayitistheworld'slargestlibrary,comprisingmorethan120millionitems.