Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building

The Thomas Jefferson Building is distinguished by its golden dome, which sits atop a massive structure of marble and granite on Capitol Hill. Completed in eighteen ninety-seven, this Beaux-Arts landmark was built to house the national collection after decades of space shortages and destructive fires threatened the library's survival. Its elaborate interior, filled with sculpture and murals, was designed to display the progress of civilization and the importance of knowledge to a growing nation.