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Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library

Visual Documentation
Image File: 
Exterior Photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
DCPL Collection, DC Community Archives, Washingtoniana Division, DC Public Library
Unknown
Location
Location: 
901 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States
38° 53' 54.4128" N, 77° 1' 28.9056" W
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901 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia
20001
Identity of Building / Site
Variant or Former Name: 
Main Branch of the District of Columbia Public Library System
Primary Classification/Typology: 
Education (EDC)
Terms of Protection, if any: 

No official protection, record only. Protection of the building is pending under the Washington D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board.

History of Building/Site
Original Brief / Purpose: 

Commission Brief: Architect was commissioned to design a structure to house the main branch of the District of Columbia Public Library.  The original Carnegie Library, a white marble Beaux Arts Structure located at 801 K Street at Mount Vernon Square, was deemed outdated and overcrowded.
Design Brief: The Fine Arts Commission, which oversaw the design competition, required a flexible interior plan and a capacity to create an addition when needed. In addition, they specified the need for prominent points of vertical communication in the form of elevators and dumbwaiters in the design of the library. Prior to this structure, the Commission had never approved a Modernist design for Washington D.C.  The design entailed a 400,000 square ft., four story building of steel, glass, and brick. There was a potential fifth story addition prefigured in the design and three underground stories that included a parking level for 100 automobiles.
Building/Construction: Construction on the building began in 1968 and was scheduled to finish in 1970, however it continued through the summer of  1972.  The architect Mies van der Rohe died in 1969 while the building was still under construction. 

Dates: Commission / Completion: 

Commission or Competition Date: September 23, 1965. (e), Start of Site Work: ( c ) July 1968, Completion/Inauguration: ( c ) August 1972

Architectural and other Designer(s): 

Architect:  Office of Mies van der Rohe
Other:  Consulting Firm Booze, Allen, and Hamilton publish report in 1961 that declares the need for a new public library.  This report begins the process that leads to the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.
Consulting Engineer(s): Nelson Ostrom Baskin and Bernam
Building Contractor(s): Blake Construction Company

Others associated with Building/Site: 

Original Owner / Patron: Washington D.C. Library Board of Trustees.
Name: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Association: The building was built during the time period in which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was at his height of prominence and power.  Further, the library was under construction when King was assassinated in 1968.  As a result of deep public mourning and outcry, the building was named after King as a memorial to his work.  It was the first public building to be named for King. The library houses a significant amount of archival material related to King and to the Civil Rights Movement.
Period: Martin Luther King, Jr. continues to be associated with the building as it bears his name and hosts numerous events commemorating his life. 

Significant Alteration(s) with Date(s): 

Type of Change: The addition of a pedestrian plaza on the street adjacent to the library.
Date: (e) 1977
Circumstances/Reasons for Change: Desire to increase pedestrian access to the area around the library.
Effects of Change:  The plaza, called Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Plaza fell into disuse and disrepair and became an area that attracted vagrants and crime.  The Plaza also changed the building’s relationship to the street pattern as it removed the flow of traffic by the library.
Organization involved: District of Columbia City Government.
Type of Change:  The removal of the Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Plaza and the reinstatement of the vehicular street.
Circumstances/Reasons for Change: City officials sought to revive the area surrounding the library and remove the plaza as a way to combat vagrancy and “blight.”
Date:(e) 1999
Effects of Change: Traffic was reintroduced to the surrounding area of the library.
Organization involved: District of Columbia City Government.
Type of Change: Removal of much of the furniture in the library designed by architect Mies van der Rohe.
Date:(c) 1980’s
Circumstances/Reasons for Change:  The library was plagued with budget shortfalls and lack of funding which prevented proper care and maintenance of the entire building system. 
Effects of Change: The furniture designed by Mies van der Rohe was part of the architectural concept of the building and its deterioration and removal changed the overall identity of the structure and the way that patrons related to it.
Organization involved: District of Columbia Library Board of Trustees, District of Columbia City Government.
Type of Change:  The installation of a mural depicting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s.  life in the lobby of the building.
Date: (e) January 20, 1986.
Circumstances / Reasons for Change: The mural was instated to commemorate the celebration of the first National Holiday dedicated to King and to solidify the connection between the library and King. 
Effect of Change: The mural became one of the most revered parts of the library for visitors and patrons.

Current Use: 

Of whole building/site: District of Columbia Public Library Main Branch
Of principal components:  Many of the building’s integral components, such as elevators and HVAC systems are often inoperable.  The state of disrepair in the library is of significant affect to the patrons and poses a serious threat to the operational integrity of the building.
Comments:  The state of operational function of the building has come under much scrutiny, as Washington DC public officials and citizens debate the future use of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library.

Current Condition: 

Of whole building:  The building’s primary structural components are in good condition, however many of its interior systems such as the HVAC system, lighting, and elevators are in great disrepair.
Of surrounding area: A plaza was built several years after the library was constructed that became rundown and has since been removed (see alterations section 2.5).  Today the streets surrounding the building are open to vehicular traffic.

Description
General Description: 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library is a rectangular 400,000 square foot building with four stories above ground and three below, with the bottom most level consisting of a parking garage.  Composed of a steel frame, curtain wall, and columnar grid it incorporates all functions in a remarkably bilateral fashion. Built in the metropolitan environment of Washington D.C., the building was designed to serve the needs of library patrons, community groups, and librarians.  As such, the structure concentrates upon vertical integration between all its levels, ensuring ease of flow and communication. Constructed of matte black steel, brick, and bronzed-tinted glass, the building exemplifies Mies van der Rohe’s mature sense of “Skin and Bones” architecture. Large tinted windows provide the primary conceptual statement of the building’s exterior, They create a shaded view of the books inside while simultaneously demonstrating the transparency of a public institution. With no major structural changes over time, the building remains a testament to the original time period and intent of the architect.  As the sole library designed by Mies, the structure stands as his only interpretation of what the form of the library, and in turn the public realm of knowledge, entailed.  With an open central space surrounded on all sides by book-stacks, offices, and meeting rooms, the library was outfitted with the most modern of technological conveniences at the time of its creation including book conveyor belts, pneumatic tubes, and dumbwaiters to speed conveyance from floor to floor.   The building has few fixed walls and a very open floor plan, illustrating Mies’ conception that the public space would need to evolve over time to remain relevant.  

Original Physical Context: 

Name(s) of surrounding area / building(s):  The building is situated within the central Washington D.C. area, embedded between such iconic structures as the White House and Capitol Buildings.  It sits at a diagonal across from the National Portrait Gallery / Smithsonian American Art Museum, an 1836 Greek-Revival building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
Visual Relations:  The building is situated within the classical milieu of Downtown Washington, D.C. and is in direct site-line with the National Portrait Gallery / Smithsonian.
Functional Relations: The buildings are not functionally related although both the library and museum serve educational purposes and are open to the public.  Many of the downtown buildings are civic in nature and representative of both national and local governmental identity.
Other Relations: The buildings are related in their disparate architectural genesis, the Modern International Style of the library acts as a counterpoint to the Greek Revival Museum and for many the two buildings act as vying symbols of what downtown Washington D.C. should embody. 
Completed Situation:  When the building was completed it occupied almost the entire block between 9th and 10th Streets NW along G Street.
Original Situation or Character of Site: The original character of the site was urban in nature and was bought from several individuals in 1961 by the Library Board of Trustees.  The buildings upon the street primarily housed small retail establishments. Completed in 1972, the building was envisioned and constructed in a markedly different technological realm than today.  At the time, there was no provision for the Internet, and the library showcased prominent built in card catalogues to disseminate information.  Today, patrons view these features as an indicator of the obsolescence of the building for use  as an urban library. Further, with the disrepair of many of the building’s systems, many perceive the library as rundown and outmoded.  The current mayor of Washington DC, and many others in the city government want to move the library from the Mies van der Rohe building to the site of the old Washington DC Convention Center several blocks away as part of a downtown redevelopment scheme. Declaring the need for a “twenty first century library”, the mayor has made the fate of the library a central issue. In this plan, the District of Columbia would lease the Mies building to a private owner.  Many preservationists and civic groups decry the move and a civic fight has begun. In 2000, volunteer architects from the Washington D.C. chapter of the AIA commissioned a revitilization study that would alter the building’s interior and introduce a skylight to maintain its functional use as a library.  This plan was never adopted and the current dialogue points to the city abandoning the building in 2007 or 2008.  There is no indication, however, that the building will be torn down.   Ultimately, the building is in a deep state of disrepair and regardless of its future function needs functional repair.

Evaluation
Technical: 

The building was designed to be the penultimate modern library.  Equipped with state of the art technological services, a simple rectangular form, and large interior spaces broken by ordered, spare columns the building expressed the cool rationality of disciplined scholarship.  The structural materials are successful and the framework of the building is technically laudable.  The building exhibits experimentation and innovation in typology, with a myriad of functions flowing through a simple rectangular grid.

Social: 

As a social expression, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library was deeply innovative for its time.  The building was the first Modernist structure commissioned by the Art Commission of the District of Columbia and represented a social turning point for a tradition bound civic definition of architecture in Washington, D.C.  Located in the heart of the downtown area, and the successor to the classical Carnegie Library, the building was a conscious effort to commission an updated, innovative, and technologically advanced structure into the civic enterprise and fabric of Washington D.C.  By inserting this building into the L’Enfant designed center of Washington D.C., the city’s government was striving for a new city expression.   In addition, the building was Mies first and only application of his principles to a library and remains a testament to Modernist applications upon everyday, public life. 

Cultural & Aesthetic: 
Mies designed the building to encapsulate a multitude of needs into a simple, clean form.  The exterior, clad in tinted glass curtain walls and steel exudes a stylistically regulated and constrained façade that exhibits an unbroken rhythm upon the street.  The rhythm is heightened, both literally and figuratively, by the existence of a colonnade on the street level of the building, where the steel frame rests upon regularly thrusting columns. The desire for complex patterns of circulation, both of people and of books,  dominates the concern of the interior, with all seven floors (four above ground three below) striving to create a vertical unity through regularly placed elevator shafts and stairwells, and a myriad of open spaces leading to rooms with specific collections and functional uses. Canonical Status: At the time of its inception, the building was lauded by both architecture critics and the general public as being a seamless application of Mies’ architectural principles to the concept of a library.  The Washington Post architecture critic, Wolf Von Eckardt, stated that, “by the utter, pristine simplicity of the design…it is in itself a work of art, undoubtedly the best example of the art of modern architecture…in Washington D.C.”  As the first library designed by Mies, too, it represented an innovative Modernist solution to the problem of a technologically and systematically designed space for late twentieth century society. 
Documentation
Text References: 
The Records of the Commission of Fine Arts holds correspondence pertaining to the commission and construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library: The National Archives: Records of the Commission of Fine Arts.  Washington D.C. National Archives and Records Administration 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20408-0001 There are many books written on the work of Mies van der Rohe, several notable of which are: Johnson, Philip C. Mies van der Rohe. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1947.</p><p>Zukowsky, John.  Mies Reconsidered: His Career, Legacy, and Disciples.  Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1986.</p><p>Schulze, Franz.  An Illustrated Catalogue of Mies van der Rohe Drawings in the Museum of Modern Art, Part II: 1938-1967, The American Work. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc: 1992. Pg. 355-415.</p><p>Carter, Peter.  Mies van der Rohe At Work.  London: Phaidon Press, 1999.</p>
Authoring
Recorder/Date: 
Name of Reporter: Polly Seddon Address: 507 West 113th Street #1, New York, NY 10025 Telephone: 802 310 4554 E-mail-ps2360@columbia.edu Date of Report: February 28, 2007
AttachmentSize
Interior Photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Source: DCPL Collection, DC Community Archives, Washingtoniana Division, DC Public Library83.93 KB
Submitted by Lindsey Schweinberg on Sat, 2007-05-19 15:51
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