Snapshots of the Past

[View of construction of the basement and first floor of the Library of Congress on the north side, with the U.S. Capitol in the background] – Antique Photo Print

[View of construction of the basement and first floor of the Library of Congress on the north side, with the U.S. Capitol in the background] — historic photograph
[View of construction of the basement and first floor of the Library of Congress on the north side, with the U.S. Capitol in the background]. Historic photograph from the U.S. Capitol collection.

(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

Step back in time with [View of construction of the basement and first floor of the Library of Congress on the north side, with the U.S. Capitol in the background], a historic photograph rich in period detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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[View of construction of the basement and first floor of the Library of Congress on the north side, with the U.S. Capitol in the background]

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Taken on May 22, 1891, this view shows crews working on the basement and first floor on the north side of the new Library of Congress, with the U.S. Capitol rising in the background. Congress had authorized a separate building in 1886 because the library's collections had outgrown their crowded quarters inside the Capitol. The photograph captures the slow early stage of the Jefferson Building, which would not open to readers until 1897, and it shows how closely the two buildings stood on Capitol Hill.

Medium1 photographic print.
Notes1891 May 22.
SubjectsThis record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Washington, D.C.--LC--Constr.; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,280 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-127812

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