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Thomas Jefferson Building

Cultural and Institutional Buildings

The Thomas Jefferson Building, also known as the Main Library, is the oldest of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, D.C. Built between 1890 and 1897, it was originally known as the Library of Congress Building and was renamed in 1980 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States. The purchase of Jefferson's own book collection in 1815 had formed a core foundation of the library's holdings, and by the 1880s the library, which had grown to include the United States Copyright Office, needed a building of its own.

Facts
Building TypeSourced to the subject's own account
Library 1
Building Type
Library building 3
Location
First Street SE, Washington, D.C., United States 3
LocationSourced to the subject's own account
Washington, D.C., United States 2
Completed YearSourced to the subject's own account
1890 1
Completed Year
1897 3
Height (m)Sourced to the subject's own account
59.44 2
Classification
Standing StatusSourced to the subject's own account
Standing 1
Building Type
Building Type (category)Sourced to the subject's own account
Government / Parliament Building 2
Connections

Has Building Type

Entity-backed identity for the building-type enum value this building already carries, resolved to an architecture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The building-type fact itself stays on the building unchanged.

In Style

Source Thomas Jefferson Building, Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Thomas Jefferson Building (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Entity description and the lead/infobox of the Wikipedia article (standing)
    The Thomas Jefferson Building, also known as the Main Library, is the oldest of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, D.C. Built between 1890 and 1897, it was originally known as the Library of Congress Building and was renamed in 1980 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States. The purchase of Jefferson's own book collection in 1815 had formed a core foundation of the library's holdings, and by the 1880s the library, which had grown to include the United States Copyright Office, needed a building of its own.
  • Wikipedia infobox building_type field (Library)
    The Thomas Jefferson Building, also known as the Main Library, is the oldest of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, D.C. Built between 1890 and 1897, it was initially known as the Library of Congress Building. In 1980, the building was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), a Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third U.S. presiden
  • Wikipedia infobox completion_date/completed/built field (1890)
    The Thomas Jefferson Building, also known as the Main Library, is the oldest of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, D.C. Built between 1890 and 1897, it was initially known as the Library of Congress Building. In 1980, the building was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), a Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third U.S. presiden
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2. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building (Wikidata)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Wikidata height (P2048) statement: 59.44
    Wikidata item Q2615945, property P2048 (height): 59.44 m (converted to metres, preferred/normal rank, non-deprecated)
  • Wikidata located-in-admin-entity (P131) / country (P17) statement: Washington, D.C., United States
    Wikidata item Q2615945, property P131/P17 (location): Washington, D.C., United States
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3. Thomas Jefferson Building, Wikipedia
  • Lead section, first sentence
    The Thomas Jefferson Building, also known as the Main Library, is the oldest of the Library of Congress buildings in Washington, D.C.
  • Lead section, location sentence
    The building is located on First Street, S.E. between Independence Avenue and East Capitol Street in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C.
  • Lead section, construction dates
    Built between 1890 and 1897, it was initially known as the Library of Congress Building.
  • Entity description and the lead/infobox of the Wikipedia article
    The Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C. opened in 1897 as the first freestanding home of the Library of Congress, designed in an exuberant Beaux-Arts style by the architects John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz and finished under the supervision of Edward Pearce Casey after years of dispute over cost and design. Its Great Hall and domed Main Reading Room are lavishly decorated with murals, mosaics and sculpture by dozens of American artists working under one coordinated iconographic program celebrating human learning and civilization. It was renamed in 1980 to honor Thomas Jefferson, whose personal library, sold to Congress in 1815 to replace the collection burned by British troops in 1814, formed the core of the library's rebuilt collection. The building is widely regarded as one of the most richly decorated interiors of any public building constructed in the United States.
  • In Style: Beaux-Arts Architecture, infobox architectural_style field: Beaux-Arts
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