The newly remodeled Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. Jennifer Chase for The Washington Post The Great Hall of the Folger Shakespeare Library used to be a dark space, its tall windows covered to prevent damage to the rare books and documents on display there. The Hall, and the adjacent Folger Theatre, were the only parts of the building to which the public had access, and neither was terribly inviting.
Crowds thronged the small, cramped hallway leading to the theater during intermission and despite a regular schedule of first-rate exhibitions, the Great Hall was often empty, and funereal. Today, the light floods in, illuminating the Great Hall’s intricate wood paneling, the ornate plaster ceiling and the two curious seals – an eagle for the United States and the coat of arms of Elizabeth I – above the doors. After a more than four-year renovation and expansion, the Folger now has designated exhibition space with carefully regulated lighting underground, and the Great Hall will be used for social space, events and a cafe.
When the Folger begins welcoming visitors once again on Friday, it will be a building transformed, better able to serve its core mission of scholarship, but with greatly expanded public access. Led by Kieran Timberlake, the same architecture firm that designed the U.S.
Embassy in London, the $80.5 million project adds 12,000 square feet of public space, with an exhibition gallery built around the symbolic centerpiece of the Folger’s collection.