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Early Proposed Drawings of the Library of Congress

  • Published December 30, 2021
Some amazing old drawings of what our Library of Congress could have looked like.
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This series of images is fascinating, showing some proposed architectural drawings of the future Library of Congress. After the Civil War, there were proposals to build a national library near Judiciary Square.

This plan, designed by John L. Smithmeyer of Washington, D.C., has been selected by the committee on which to construct the new Congressional Library. D. W. Voorhees. Source: Library of Congress

The one below is a drawing of the proposed facade for the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress as done in 1873 by architects John Smithmeyer and Paul Pelz.

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Proposed plan for the facade of the Jefferson Building, Library of Congress. Source: Library of Congress

This drawing is a Romanesque proposal for the Library of Congress also by Smithmeyer & Pelz.

Proposed plan for the facade of the Jefferson Building, Library of Congress. Source: Library of Congress

Here’s a cool internal drawing of the proposed floor plan.

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Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Floor plan. Source: Library of Congress

Also, don’t miss our earlier post showing another proposed design for the Library of Congress back in 1873.

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