The Hottest Reopening in DC This Summer Is a Library
All that glitters is not gold, but this renovated library is pretty dang shiny.
William Shakespeare might not be the first person you associate with Washington, DC, but he certainly is the city’s man of the moment. On June 21, Folger Shakespeare Library will open its doors after a multi-year closure for a top-to-bottom, $80.5 million renovation. The landmark cultural institution, which first opened in 1932, is home to the largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works in the world, as well as other rare materials and literary artifacts.
The Folger’s closest neighbors in the Capitol Hill neighborhood—the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building—might not be its likeliest bed fellows, yet these institutions all pay close attention to the importance of language and how it’s both used and interpreted. With its renovation, the Folger seeks to assert itself in-conversation with, rather than opposition to, these seats of government power. “We need history, poetry, theater, and the humanities to be part of an elevated democracy,” says Michael Witmore, the director of the Folger.
Prior to its pre-pandemic closure, the library blended into the city’s towering Greco-revival buildings. The renovation, which was undertaken by the Philadelphia-based architectural firm of KieranTimberlake, manages to maintain the historic building’s original façade while creating a more welcoming and accessible visitor experience. Chief among this undertaking is the introduction of two new exhibition halls, created by digging under the original structure; a facelift for the Folger’s research center and reading room, which is now, appealingly, open to the public and not just researchers; much needed upgrades to its iconic theater; and a brand-new café opening this summer in the Folger’s main hall, modeled in the style of an Elizabethan great house.
The refresh provides a new opportunity to get up close and personal with the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, and to appreciate books, prints, objects, and manuscripts related to the playwright and his world and his plays, in a new light. The new exhibition halls are designed to be experienced non-linearly, so visitors can jump in and out at any point. Highlights of the new displays include all 82 of the Folger’s original Shakespeare folios (the first published collections of his plays), playbills and broadsides from historical productions.
There will also be non-Shakespearian work on display, including a first century BCE Egyptian Book of the Dead, page proofs of The Lord of The Rings with hand-written corrections by J.R.R. Tolkien, and an advanced press copy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s landmark “I Have A Dream” speech. Hands-on activities like treasure hunts for kids, do-it-yourself printing presses, and weekly family programs are also new additions.
Additionally, the re-opening will also unveil the library’s new gardens, which are laid out as a series of welcoming outdoor rooms that act as an entrance hall. The gardens are filled with plants and flowers Shakespeare makes reference to in his plays, including daffodils fromThe Winter’s Tale, rosemary from Hamlet, boxwood from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and crocus from The Tempest, with a handful of hearty DC-weather resistant perennials thrown in. Designed by landscape designers OLIN, the outdoor spaces also include a poem by the poet Rita Dove etched into a marble wall that wraps around the garden, as well as a century-old magnolia tree that was original to the Folger (planted for the museum’s original 1932 opening) and successfully moved to a new site in the garden.
Although the big reveal is Friday, June 21, there’s plenty to keep visitors coming back. The Folger’s theater season will reopen this fall with a production of Romeo and Juliet, a new commission, A Room in the Castle, by contemporary playwright Lauren Gunderson, which delves into the lives of the women in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Twelfth Night. A poetry series, classes, and new rotating exhibits will also be on offer.
As Karen Ann Daniels, Folger’s Artistic Director, aptly points out, this new phase of the library presents old material like you’ve never seen before. “This isn’t your English class Shakespeare,” she says.
The Folger Shakespeare Library opens to the public on Friday, June 21. Admission is free. A $15 donation is suggested. The Museum will be open Tuesday – Sunday.