The Library of Congress and the National Gallery

Two days a year, the reading room at the Library of Congress is open to the public. We decided to take advantage of the first one since we were back in town. It's always been a dream of mine to go inside, but since I really didn't feel like jumping through the hoops typically required, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. It was amazing.

"Father Time"

The portrait statues representing poetry: Homer and Shakespeare

Looking up at the Bard

Three of the symbolic statues: Philosophy and History (She's holding a mirror to reflect things behind her.)

Art

The Dome

The circulation desk

The card catalog. There were rows upon rows.

American Literature

We found some poetry books after the card catalogs.

Old white pages from Dubois, PA

There was a display of old cookbooks.

The Great Hall

A couple mosaics on the floor

Since we were in the area, we figured we would swing by the National Gallery. On the way we passed The Supreme Court...

and one of my favorite little spots by the Capitol. Although, I must say, it's much prettier in the summer when the fountains are on and the leaves are on the trees. They must have taken out a lot of the foliage because I feel like it's generally much more sheltered even in the winter.

The National Gallery

Gilbert Stuart's The Skater