Library Of Congress
MyLOC

Ceiling (South Corridor)

Ceiling (South Corridor)

During the renovation of the Jefferson Building during the 1990s, it was discovered that the metallic ornamentation of the ceiling, once thought to be silver leaf, is actually aluminum leaf. When the building was being constructed during the 1890s, aluminum was more precious than silver. The scale-pattern design of the six large skylights echoes that of the marble flooring beneath.