Lens-Artists Challenge #40 – Something Different
For L-A Challenge #40, Tina invites us to share something different.
‘When its doors opened to the public in 1897, the Library of Congress represented an unparalleled national achievement, the “largest, costliest, and safest” library in the world.’ — The Great Hall, Library of Congress.
Last week, we were in Washington DC. On the last day in DC, we spent time touring the Library of Congress. As soon as we entered the Great Hall, we felt like we were walking into a museum of Italian Renaissance instead of a library.
Once thought to be silver leaf on the ceiling, is actually aluminum leaf. When the building was being constructed during the 1890s, aluminum was more precious than silver.
The statue is a symbol of celebration of Benjamin Franklin’s discoverer of electricity.
The materials include marble (15 varieties), granite (400,000 cubic feet), bronze, gold, mahogany. The grandeur of the hall left visitors breathless. And, this is not something we would normally expect from a library, but this is the Library of Congress.
Below is the main Reading Room of the Library of Congress. I took this photo with my iPhone 8+ from a small window in the hallway. A very grand and different library reading room, indeed.
The World Is A Book... 
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