Library of Congress - view of construction of basement and first floor: Aug. 27, 1891 – Vintage Wall Art

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of Library of Congress - view of construction of basement and first floor: Aug. 27, 1891. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. A fine choice for anyone who loves history, and a gift that gets noticed. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Library of Congress - view of construction of basement and first floor: Aug. 27, 1891
Order a print
Thank you. Your order went through, and a receipt is on its way by email.
Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal
Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.
This August 1891 view records the Library of Congress while its basement and first floor were going up, in the early years of the building that would later be named the Thomas Jefferson Building. The site was then a large excavation and framework on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and the photograph shows how the construction crew worked on the building's lowest levels. Congress had authorized the library's new home in the 1880s, and construction ran through the early 1890s before the building opened to the public in 1897. The photograph is useful for seeing the building's foundations and early structure before its interior and ornament were completed.
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
|---|---|
| Notes | 1891 |
| Subjects | This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: DC, Wash.--LC--Construction; Shelf. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,300 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-134761 |
More from the Library of Congress collection
Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

![[Library of Congress: detail of capital of column in the Rotunda on the first floor of the Library of Congress, 13 Nov. 1895]](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/15/15bdb613cea5-400.webp)

![[Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. View of corridors of first floor]](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/d3/d386974162fb-400.webp)

![[Library of Congress (New Congress Library") D.C. First floor plan]"](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/91/914fc663f39d-400.webp)