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TheJohn Adams Building is the second-oldest of the buildings of theLibrary of Congress of theUnited States. Built in the 1930s, it is named forJohn Adams, the second president, who signed the law creating the Library of Congress in 1800. The building is in theCapitol Hill district ofWashington D.C. next to the library's main building (now known as theThomas Jefferson Building) in theCapitol Complex. The Adams building opened to the public on April 5, 1939, and before being named for the president in 1980, was simply called The Annex building. It is designed in a restrained but very detailedArt Deco style[1] and faced in whiteGeorgia marble. It is located on Second Street SE betweenIndependence Avenue andEast Capitol Street in Washington, DC.
The idea to construct a new library building was presented to theUnited States Congress in 1928 at the urging ofLibrarian of CongressHerbert Putnam. The bill was sponsored byU.S. RepresentativeRobert Luce, chairman of theHouse Committee on the Library. On June 13, 1930, $6.5 million was appropriated for the building's construction, for a tunnel connecting it to the Main Building, and for changes in the east front of the Main Building, including the construction of a Rare Book Room.[2] An additional appropriation approved on June 6, 1935, brought the total authorization to $8,226,457.
Architect of the Capitol David Lynn took charge of the project and commissioned theWashington, D.C.architectural firm of Pierson & Wilson to design the building, withAlexander Buel Trowbridge as consulting architect. The contract stipulated completion by June 24, 1938, but the building was not ready for occupancy until December 2, 1938. The move of the Card Division started on December 12. The new building opened to staff on January 3, 1939, and the Reading Rooms opened to the public on April 5, 1939. It also housed theUnited States Copyright Office through the middle of the 20th century[3]
The building is five stories in height above ground, with the fifth story set back 35 feet (11 m). It contains 180 miles (290 km) of shelving (compared to 104 miles (167 km) in the Jefferson Building) and can hold ten million volumes. There are 12 tiers of stacks, extending from the cellar to the fourth floor. Each tier provides about 13 acres (53,000 m2) of shelf space.
On April 13, 1976, in a ceremony at theJefferson Memorial marking the birthday ofThomas Jefferson,PresidentGerald Ford signed into law the act to change the name of the Library of Congress Building to the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. On June 13, 1980, the Adams building acquired its present name, which honorsJohn Adams, the former President of the United States who in 1800 approved the law establishing the Library of Congress.
The building is faced in whiteGeorgiamarble and incorporated the use of new materials at the time such as acoustical block,formica,vitrolite, andglass tubing.[4]
To commemorate figures associated with the history of writing, sculptorLee Lawrie etched reliefs into the bronze doors that would adorn the west (2nd Street SE) and east (3rd Street SE) entrances of the library building once it opened in 1939.[4]
The figures - all deities and heroes associated with the written word - are:
The entryways to the John Adams Building were modified in 2013 with the addition of code-compliant, sculpted glass doors that replicate the original bronze reliefs by Lawrie. The original doors are held fully open within the vestibule of each entry, flanking the new monumental doors made by the Washington Glass Studio and Fireart Glass.[5][6]
The south entrance doors (not currently used) facing Independence Avenue are reached by a stairway decorated with stylized owls and lamps. On the doors are a male figure representing physical labor and a female figure representing intellectual labor. Before it moved to expanded quarters in theJames Madison Memorial Building, this was the entrance for theUnited States Copyright Office, which is under the jurisdiction of the Librarian of Congress.[4]
38°53′19″N77°00′10″W / 38.8885°N 77.0027°W /38.8885; -77.0027
