Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Significance: The Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial (MLK) Library was constructed between 1968 and 1972 to serve as the Downtown Central Library for the District of Columbia. Replacing the Neoclassical style Carnegie Library (1903) on Mount Vernon Square, the International style MLK Library was designed and developed as part of a larger urban renewal plan for downtown Washington, D.C. during the mid-twentieth century. The only dedicated library building designed by the internationally renowned Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, MLK Library is one of the few great Modernist buildings to have ever been constructed in the District and is an important example of the International style in the nation's capital. Although it appears that Mies himself had little direct oversight of the building's design, which was managed by architects under his employ, including Gene Summers and Jack Bowman, the building's design exhibits many of the distinguishing features of Mies's singular architectural principles, most notably his emphasis on form and function over stylistic concerns and his use of structural expressionism. A recognizable example of his work, MLK Library is defined by the exterior expression of the building's structural elements and its use of modern building technology and materials, including precast concrete, steel framing system of girders and wide-flange columns, and curtain wall system allowing for the use of wide expanses of plate glass. In 2007, the property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the work of a master and (as emblematic of its importance) as a property that has achieved significance at less than fifty years of age.

Survey number: HABS DC-887

Building/structure dates: 1968-1972 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1986 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 2017-2020 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 07001102

libraries public works public buildings international style architectural elements modern architectural elements precast concrete steel structural frames curtain walls murals colonnades granite flat roofs acoustical tiles gypsum board fluorescent lighting fixtures conveying systems dumbwaiters elevators armor elevator company armstrong ashley myer smith knox banner florence knoll bassett black construction company james a blaser allen and hamilton booz john jack bowman milton s byam canterbury cold spring granite company commissioners of the district of columbia dc department of buildings and grounds dauphin steel and engineering company kimberly de muro district of columbia public library district of columbia public library board of trustees charles duke charles eames ray eames general electric general fireproofing company harter corporation herman miller historic american buildings survey keystone ridgeway co martin luther king bill lebovich joe y lee pc martinez johnson architecture bill marzella benjamin mckelway ludwig mies van der rohe donald lloyd miller william huston natcher national capital downtown committee national capital planning commission harry n peterson ppg industries remington rand elizabeth rowe steelcase corporation stevens gullistan gene summers us commission of fine arts william walton frank wolfsheimer photo g street northwest martin luther memorial library historic american landscapes survey historic american engineering record architecture neoclassicism washington dc bauhaus plan library of congress architectural diagrams neoclassical architecture national register of historic places historic landmarks

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/

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