Folger Shakespeare Library

Welcome to the Folger Shakespeare Library, an extraordinary institution situated a mere two blocks east of the United States Capitol building. I am delighted to be your guide through this unparalleled sanctuary of humanistic…

We begin our physical journey at the newly designed entry gardens, a stunning landscape that serves as the modernized threshold to the library. As you approach the building from East Capitol Street, take a moment to absorb the…

We have now arrived at the pulsating intellectual heart of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Stand before this expansive glass wall and allow your eyes to sweep across the magnificent display behind it. …

Turning away from the First Folios, we now step into the breathtaking expanse of the Tudor Great Hall. Take a moment to cast your gaze upward to the magnificent high ceiling, adorned with intricate Tudor strapwork tracing…

We now move into the designated exhibition gallery, where the library curates rotating displays drawn from its vast collection. A central focus here is the exploration of Shakespeare not just as a monumental literary icon, but as…

Let us quietly step toward the heavy wooden doors that guard one of the most exclusive and revered spaces in the entire institution: the Tudor Reading Room. While the library has vastly expanded its public accessibility, this…

We now transition from the quiet contemplation of the reading room into a space designed for vibrant, spoken energy: the Folger Library Theater. Built concurrently with the rest of the original library in nineteen thirty-two,…

We now descend below the public floors into the heavily secured, climate-controlled subterranean levels of the library, known as the open stacks. This is the staggering, hidden labyrinth where the sheer, overwhelming volume of…

Having seen the vast accumulation of ancient materials in the stacks, we now arrive at the department utterly vital to their continued survival: the Conservation Laboratory. As you look through the windows into this brightly lit,…

For our final stop before concluding our tour, we visit a space that embodies the intellectual soul and camaraderie of the institution: the Tea Room. Located just off the main administrative corridors, this relatively unassuming…

As we conclude our comprehensive journey through the Folger Shakespeare Library, let us pause to reflect on the immense gravity of what we have witnessed. We have traversed beautifully modernized gardens designed to welcome the…