Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Washington DC's Folger Shakespeare Library at night Unless consider yourself a bardolator—that’s a fancy term for an ardent Shakespeare fan—you might not have heard of Washington, D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library .
But a comprehensive renovation project, which kicked off in March 2020 and wraps today with the highly anticipated reopening, is poised to change all that. While Folger Shakespeare Library has always housed the world’s largest Shakespeare collection with over 300,o00 manuscripts, books, art, and other objects, along with an award-winning theater, much of the public, save for researchers and scholars, wasn’t aware that the space was free and open to the public. Students exploring Folger Shakespeare Library Guests are now welcomed with a lush garden featuring plants adored by Shakespeare and a magnolia tree from the Folger’s 1932 opening.
As you make your down to the main door, you’ll be guided by a poem by the former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Rita Dove inscribed in marble. The first line, “Clear your calendars. Pocket your notes,” invites you to cast away any preconceived notions you have and assures you that everyone is welcome.
Interactive and inclusive, the new Shakespeare Exhibition Hall brims with thought-provoking pieces including contemporary artist Fred Wilson’s black Murano glass commission; a printing press resembling one that printed Shakespeare’s First Folios; .
