The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLKML) is the central facility of the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL), constructed and named in honor of the American

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

Its address is 901 G St. NW in

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with its main entrance between 9th and 10th St. on the opposite corner to Gallery Place station, and the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. The library is located in and around the

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

Mount Vernon Square Mount Vernon Square is a town square, city square and neighborhood in the Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest Address (geography)#Quadrants, quadrant of Washington, D.C. The square is located where the following streets would otherwise inters ...

, and Penn Quarter neighborhoods.

History

The city's previous central library, in Mount Vernon Square, was donated by industrialist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

and dedicated in 1903. A 1961 Booz Allen Hamilton report sponsored by the city government found that the library had become inadequate in size and technology, was located in what was now the city's "worst slum", and that "At any hour of the day or night, a collection of derelicts loaf around the Library and sleep on the curved bench in front." It called for a new library downtown, at an estimated cost of $12 million.

Construction

Architect

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...

designed the 400,000 square foot (37,000 m²) steel, brick, and glass structure, an example of

modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

, in

This library was Mies's only public library, and his only building constructed in Washington, D.C. The building was completed in 1972 at a cost of $18 million. By the early 2000s, years of deferred facility maintenance had become widely apparent. On June 28, 2007, the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

's Historic Preservation Review Board designated the building a historic landmark. The designation, which applies to the exterior as well as interior spaces, seeks to preserve Mies' original design while allowing the library the necessary flexibility to operate. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2007. The building's lobby includes a large mural of

created by artist Don Miller.

Renovation

Mecanoo Mecanoo is an architecture firm based in Delft, Netherlands. Mecanoo was founded in 1984 by Francine Houben, Henk Döll, Roelf Steenhuis, Erick van Egeraat and Chris de Weijer. Foundation Houben, Döll and Steenhuis won a competition to de ...

architecture firm was selected to renovate the library, starting on March 4, 2017. The renovation cost $211 million, and the library reopened in 2020 after 3½ years. The entire interior was completely redone, and included a new auditorium, dance studio, recording studios, tool library, offices, and a rooftop garden.

Covid-19

When the library reopened, with limited services, after the renovation, the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting the United States. The library closed again following a phased management of the pandemic. It was a center for COVID-19 testing and distribution of masks as a contribution in the city's management of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, while providing some library services.

Accessibility

The library follows accessibility regulations in accordance with

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

(ADA): * Doors and elevators

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

accessible on every floor. * One Topaz HD magnifier that allow users with impaired vision to read documents with fonts in the size most convenient from them. It includes a brightness dial, a magnification dial, a color dial, and its ergonomic design allows the screen's height and orientation. A tray allows smooth movement of the texts, and the lock button can be used to read, hold or write documents. * ADA computers for persons with

visual impairment Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

or physical disabilities. * Four wide

elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

for patrons, and elevators for staff use. * One

public toilet A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...

for each gender on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th floors, and two family restrooms with baby changing stations located in the 5th floor. *

Air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

to cool the library in summer,

heat pump A heat pump is a device that uses electricity to transfer heat from a colder place to a warmer place. Specifically, the heat pump transfers thermal energy using a heat pump and refrigeration cycle, cooling the cool space and warming the warm s ...

s to warm it in winter, and

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Respirator, a ma ...

on every floor. * Lighting designed for reading. * Two sets of stairs at the front of the building, and two at the back, for routine use and as fire exits.

Special collections and exhibitions

The Washingtoniana collection includes books, newspaper archives, maps, census records, and oral histories related to the city's history, with 1.3 million photographs from the '' Washington Star'' newspaper and the theatrical video collections of the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive. The Black Studies Center was established along with the MLK Library in 1972 to collect documents related to the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

focusing on

African American culture African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American/Bl ...

Special exhibits

In the summer of 2023, the library showed 12 original drawings by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

from the 1400s and 1500s until August 20, 2023, in a free exhibit entitled ''Imagining the future - Leonardo da Vinci: In the mind of an Italian genius''.

Auditorium

A 291-person state-of-the art auditorium on the fifth floor is used for hosting live performances, lectures, and film screenings, including performances by the

National Museum of the United States Navy The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy ...

's band, and Wolf Trap Opera's world premiere of BORN FREE by Edward W. Hardy. The DC Public Library Foundation (DCPLF) received a $2.7 million donation from

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

to support Beyond the Book, the extension of Books From Birth; one of the DC Public Library's most important and beloved literacy programs for young children. Bezos’ donation was the largest ever received by the foundation. It was suggested that the auditorium be named after Bezos, but this was criticised by council members including Charles Allen and D.C.'s shadow representative to Congress Oye Owolewa.

Terrace and garden

The terrace and gardens are on the fifth floor, surrounding the Auditorium. There is a garden with a view of a section of Chinatown and G, H and 9th streets. There are covered seating areas for use even in inclement weather.

Landmark designations

In June 2007 the DC Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) designated the building exterior, enclosure, and the interior public spaces on the ground floor as a historic landmark; it is in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites. In the same year, it was listed in the

References

External links

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1972 Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Public libraries in Washington, D.C. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings Buildings and structures in Penn Quarter 1972 establishments in Washington, D.C. Chinatown (Washington, D.C.) Mount Vernon Square