On this dual holiday, it befits us to look at both sides of the coin. We start with the Library of Congress, which has been the subject of many posts over the years. Once again, this year, it will be open to the public this Monday, allowing the public to visit places that are usually closed off, or only available to researchers. While the library has of late been more liberal about allowing visitors to visit the floor of the main reading room, instead of just looking down from above, the open house allows for more freedom of movement, so if you have ever wanted to emulate Nicholas Cage, this is your opportunity. (If you do not know what we are referring to here, we recommend you read up on how the library starred in a National Treasure movie here.)
Or you can look back at some of our pieces related to the library, whether what it looked like when it was still in the Capitol or some pictures from open houses past we’ve got you covered.
In this detail of a Harper‘s Weekly engraving, John Surratt arriving at the Washington Navy Yard is at the very left. At the right side are two or three Sioux who were visiting at the time.
If, on the other hand, you are more interested in the Native American history of Capitol Hill, we have lots to read about there, too. Over the years, we have looked at numerous ways Indigenous people have been on the Hill, whether living here or visiting. For a complete list, see this postfrom a few years ago/
Or go out and enjoy the day! There is even a memorial that is very appropriate to visit on this day. And we are not talking about the statue out in front of Union Station, which, admittedly, might be worth writing about in the future.
We promise to get back to looking at minutiae of Hill history next week. In fact, there are a whole slew of pieces in the works right now, looking at some of the events in the Capitol over the years.