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A view of the completed Jefferson Building
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Jefferson and the Library of Congress
The Library collection was kept in the Congressional Reading Room in the Capitol, but in 1871 the Librarian of Congress at the time, Ainsworth Rand Spofford, suggested that they construct a separate building for the Library. In 1886, Congress approved the project. Spofford wanted a "domed reading room at the Library's center, surrounded by ample space for the Library's various departments." When it was finished, it was the largest and costliest library building in the world. In 1980, the building was renamed the Thomas Jefferson Building in honor of the man whose personal collection helped rebuild the Library. You can imagine that this would have made Jefferson very happy.
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