Overview

Over the past ten years, the Library of Congress has cataloged more than forty thousand drawings, prints, and photographs that capture important developments in the growth of Washington, D.C., and its greater metropolitan area, including Virginia and Maryland. This elegant volume, a guide to the library's massive collection, offers an introduction to its content and a celebration of the ambitious project of designing the nation's capital. Capital Drawings features drawings for some of Washington's most important buildings, monuments, and memorials-the United States Capitol, the White House, and the Vietnam Memorial-as well as anonymous structures of everyday life and ambitious projects that were never built. These newly available documents tell the story of the capital's planning and growth. Each of these ""capital drawings"" reflects some aspect of the lives, history, and values of its creators and sponsors. Featuring essays from distinguished scholars in preservation, architecture, and history, Capital Drawings invites us to explore the history and development of a city and nation through the buildings, monuments, and public and private spaces that have given them physical form and symbolic meaning. Contributors: Richard Longstreth, George Washington University; C. Ford Peatross, Library of Congress; Pamela Scott, American University; William Seale, White House Historical Association; Damie Stillman, Society of Architectural Historians; Gwendolyn Wright, Columbia University.

Full Product Details

9780801872327

Table of Contents

Reviews

A rare treat indeed... In this book there is much to celebrate, much to lament and an infinite amount to learn. -- Milton Wilfred Grenfell Traditional Building/Period Homes The real seduction is in the images. -- Zachary M. Schrag H-DC The completed cataloging of some forty thousand drawings, prints, and photographs depicting the greater Washington area is cause for celebration, and Johns Hopkins University Press has produced a fitting volume to mark the occasion. Lavishly illustrated and carefully documented... represents much more than a guide book. -- Howard Gillette Jr. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians The beautifully produced Capital Drawings offers the reflections of six architectural historians. -- Alan Lessoff Journal of Urban History

A significant and important addition to the publications on Washington architecture. This guide will be invaluable to architects and researchers. Very impressive. - Alison K. Hoagland, Michigan Technological University

Author Information

C. Ford Peatross is curator of the architecture, design, and engineering collections at the Library of Congress.

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