A Day at the Library of Congress, Tapas with Anne & Damon

Today we ate breakfast in our lovely hotel suite and then walked to the Metro station at Foggy Bottom. Like two out-of-towners, we struggled with getting Metro Cards and loading the proper amount of money on them. In fact, we had to get help. Is it our age?

   Anyhow, we then went to the immense James Madison Building which is part of the Library of Congress. (The largest library in the world with the largest rare book collection) We were confronted with a maze to even get to the registration area for researchers. Then, we filled out forms, got our photos taken and were issued research cards. Everything went into a locker except for our phones, computers and chargers and eye glasses.

James Madison Building - Manuscripts, photos, music records are here for Library of Congress

   Barbara is tracking down letters written by Nantucketer Anna Gardner to Frederick Douglass. She has five, but hoped that there might be more. Her letters to him indicate a close relationship and she stayed at his home, Cedar Hill, on two occasions, once when he was alive and once with his widow.
   A very nice archivist helped Barbara and sent her to talk with another archivist, Dr. Adrienne Cannon who suggested a few other leads. Mark went up to the photos area and found a photo of Cedar Hill which he will order. Barbara found a photo of Helen Pitts Douglass and put in an order for that.
    We ate our packed lunch in the cafeteria in the building and then made our way to the jewel in the Library of Congress's crown, the Thomas Jefferson Building, built in the 1890s. It is quite surprising that we have never visited it before as we have visited so many of the wonderful buildings and monuments in the city.

Mark getting screened - Metal in his knee means setting off alarms.

View of Capital and Washington Monument from the steps of the Jefferson Building

   On display in the impressive lobby is one of three Gutenberg Bible's written on vellum. (The light was too low to take a photo of it.)

Ceiling, Jefferson Building

Lobby of Jefferson Building

Reading Room, Jefferson Building

Rotunda, Jefferson Building

   Then we took the Metro home, checked mail etc.
   We had a wonderful evening with Anne and Damon near their apartment in the Cathedral neighborhood. They are getting married on February 17 (my birthday!) and we couldn't be happier for them. They treated us to a feast of tapas at Barcelona. Yum!

Anne, Damon, me and Mark at Barcelona. Great conversation. A feast.

   A very good day.