201 East Capitol Street, S.E.
The Folger Shakespeare Library is a monumental block-long structure clad in white Georgia marble that rises on the south side of East Capitol Street, between 2nd and 3rd Streets SE, in close proximity to the equally monumental buildings of the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Capitol. With its main entrance grandly raised on a marble plinth and quotes and scenes from Shakespeare plays carved on its East Capitol Street façade, the building is a memorial for the ages to the greatest literary artist of the English language and a major contribution to the monumental architecture of the Nation’s Capital. The original building was designed by Paul Philippe Cret (1876-1945) in consultation with Alexander B. Trowbridge (1868-1950) and completed in 1932. The addition at the rear of the building was designed by Warren Cox of the firm of Hartman-Cox and completed in 1983. Both sections retain their historic integrity. The original building’s exterior was included in the National Register in 1969, but, following the practices of the time, the documentation accompanying the nomination was limited. This amendment to the nomination contains additional documentation of both the original building’s and the addition’s interiors, including the Great Hall, the original Reading Room (now known as the Gail Kern Paster Reading Room), the Founders’ Room, the Shakespearean Theatre, the New Reading Room, and other spaces highlighted in Illustration A2, as well as the addition’s exterior.
