The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The legislation described a reference library for Congress only, containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress -- and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein...."

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When its doors opened to the public in 1897, the Library of Congress represented an unparalleled national achievement, the "largest, costliest, and safest" library in the world.

Its elaborately decorated interior, embellished by works of art from nearly fifty American painters and sculptors, linked the United States to classical traditions of learning and simultaneously flexed American cultural and technological muscle.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith

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Eight giant marble columns each support 10-foot-high allegorical female figures in plaster representing characteristic features of civilized life and thought: Religion, Commerce, History, Art, Philosophy, Poetry, Law and Science.

The 16 bronze statues set upon the balustrades of the galleries pay homage to men whose lives symbolized the thought and activity represented by the plaster statues.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith

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The murals in the six lunettes by John White Alexander (1856–1915) illustrate The Evolution of the Book. The series of murals in the lunettes of the Reading Room vestibule are by Elihu Vedder (1836–1923) and depict Government.

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The series of murals in the lunettes in the north gallery by artist Charles Sprague Pearce (1851–1914) illustrates the phases of a pleasant and well-ordered life. The scenes represent the kind of idyllic existence often imagined by poets, in which people live in an innocent, simple, and untroubled society where they begin to develop the attributes of a more refined civilization.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.

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The murals in the lunettes of the south gallery are by artist Henry Oliver Walker (1843–1929).  The largest mural, at the far end, depicts Lyric Poetry. Before a distant vista figures are gathered in a woodland scene with a tumbling brook at its center, a wild and natural scene that might inspire a poet.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.

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The gallery is framed by two large murals over its doorways, War and Peace, both by the artist Gari Melchers (1860–1932).

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.

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In each corner of this pavilion are relief sculptures by Bela Lyon Pratt (1867–1917). The sculptures represent Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Murals by William De Leftwich Dodge (1867–1935) ornament the walls and ceiling.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.

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The gallery is framed by two large murals over its doorways, The Arts mural and The Sciences mural both by Kenyon Cox (1856–1919).

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.

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The pavilion is ornamented with relief sculptures in each corner by Bela Lyon Pratt (1867–1917). The sculptures represent Spring (“Plant,”) Summer (“Bloom,”) Autumn (“Seed,”) and Winter (“Decay”.) Murals by the artist George Willoughby Maynard (1878–1934) ornament the walls and ceiling.

Photography by Carol M. Highsmith.

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In 1957, Librarian of Congress L. Quincy Mumford initiated studies for a third Library building. Congress appropriated planning funds for that structure, today's James Madison Memorial Building, in 1960, and construction was approved by an act of Congress on October 19, 1965 that authorized an appropriation of $75 million. Excavation and foundation work began in June 1971, and work on the superstructure was completed in 1976. The cornerstone, inscribed with the date 1974, was laid on March 8, 1974. Dedication ceremonies were held on April 24, 1980, and the building actually opened on May 28, 1980.

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In 1928, at the urging of Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam, Congress authorized the purchase of land directly east of the Library's Main Building for the construction of an Annex Building. The bill was sponsored by Robert Luce, chairman of the House Committee on the Library. On June 13, 1930, $6,500,00 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. An additional appropriation approved on June 6, 1935, brought the total authorization to $8,226,457.

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