Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-09
FOLGER LIBRARY
TO Be IMPRESSIVE
Shakespeareana Building Is
Rapidly Nearing
Completion.
Continued From First Page)


quotations from some of his con-
temporaries.
The main facade of the library fronts
on East Capitol street, with drive
way giving off on Second street OPP
posite the Congressional Library. The
driveway will partially circumvent a
fountain of white marble, surmounted
by a figure of Puck. character of the
play Midsummer Nights Dream, =
which will be modelled by Miss Brenda
Putnam of New York.
Reading Room in Tudor Style.
On the interior frank departure has
been made with an effort to create an
atmosphere distinctly OF the Snake
spearean period. This is especially true
of the large reading room of the struc-
ture, which is characleristically Tudor
in style, finished deliberately in oak. At
the end of the reading room there is
large Gothic traceried window, which
is a COPY of the choir window in the
church at Stratford-on- Avon, where
Shakespeare was buried. Other windows
are of a new design of classic style,
representing the seven stages of man.
A series of long windows on the main
facade, nodded in classic modern style,
look into long room, in which will be
housed an exhibition of art collected
by the late Mr.. Folger, which include
oil paintings, and also costumes which
have been shown in the production OF
ShakeSpearean plays.
At the east end of the building is a
small theater, or lecture hall, which
has been created in the spirit of the
medieval English period. The underly-
ing idea of this room has been to re-
produce the character of the old court
yards, which in olden times were used
by strolling players for the presentation
of their plays. The general scheme OF
an ancient courtyard, with surrounding
balconies, has been the motivating idea
in this Elizabethan theater. No attempt
has been made to make everything IN
this room consistently ancient in char
acter and therefore will not be in It's
entirety an archaeological exhibit.
Chairs in the theater will be modern
and comfortable. In the main arcade
the modern sloping floor of the modern
theater will supplant the level fioored pit
Of the ancient theater.
The planting on the grounds sur
rounding the building is already under
way and will have a great deal to do
with the final effect of the building. The
landscaping will include trees, shrubs,
hedges and other plant form to produce
an attractive ensemble. A feature of
this phase of the development will be
the planting in mass form of juniperus
pfitzeriana, which will be grown along
the main facade as thick foliage. The
landscaping work is being done by j. H.
Small & Sons of this city.
A group of rooms at the southwest
corner of the structure originally in
tended for the use of Mr.. Folger as a
library, Office and study, is to be known
as the Founders room. 1t will be used
by Mrs. Folger when she is in Washing
ton and also viii be placed at the dis
poSal OF the board of trustees of AM
herst College, in whose charge the struc-
ture has BEEN placed, with $4,000, 900
endowment to maintain it. 1t was at
Amherst College that Mr.. Folger studied
and first became interested in Shake
speareana. He conceived the idea OF
the Folger Library three years before
his death in June Of last year Its total
cost Is estimated at 81 500, 900.
Storage Places Provided.
A system of ventilation is being in
stalled in the library, by which the air
is cleaned and temperatures regulated.
amount of humidity. Concealed and
indirect heating systems will furnish
warmth for the building.
There Is a basement and subbasement
In the structure. providing vaults and
storage places for a large number of
books. The Folger collection includes
between $4,000 and 10000 volumes. The
library viii be completed by August, with
the exception Of the sculpturing, which
probably win not be finished for several
months.
Associated with Mr.. Cret in the de-
signing of the building was Alexander
3. Trowbridge Of this city, consulting
architect. The building contract was
awarded to the James Baird Co.