WASHINGTON — The Folger Shakespeare Library is reopening its historic home on Capitol Hill to the public on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, after a major three-year building renovation. The renovation will allow the Folger to share more of its collection and resources.
The transformed Folger will welcome visitors to new and reimagined spaces including new exhibition halls, a learning lab, lush gardens, and expanded amenities such as a new café and gift shop.
“After much planning and dedicated work, the Folger is opening to a wider world and an even more expansive vision of what Shakespeare, the humanities, and the arts can contribute,” says Folger Director Michael Witmore in a press statement. “This is a golden opportunity for us to reintroduce ourselves and welcome local, national, and international communities to the new Folger.”
The new exhibition spaces will include Folger’s first permanent Shakespeare exhibition. All 82 copies of the Folger’s Shakespeare First Folios — over a third of the copies remaining in the world — will be publicly displayed together for the first time in a 20-foot-long visible vault. The First Folios will be surrounded by interactive experiences inviting visitors of all ages to explore Shakespeare, his works and world, and their connection to our own time.
The $80.5 million renovation project was designed by the Philadelphia-based architectural firm of KieranTimberlake. Here are some highlights of what's new.
- Welcoming New Gardens
Visitors enter the Adams Pavilion through fully accessible gardens filled with both native plants and plants mentioned by Shakespeare. Benches and paths invite visitors to relax, as do open green spaces and shade trees, including a heritage magnolia tree planted at the time of the Folger’s 1932 opening. Inscriptions include a Folger-commissioned poem by US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Rita Dove welcoming visitors to the Folger. A Juliet balcony overlooks the east entrance, while an aluminum replica of Brenda Putnam’s Puck statue returns to greet visitors in a new fountain in the west entry garden. - Two New Exhibition Halls
Visitors will experience unprecedented access to the Folger collection in two modern, state of the art exhibition halls totaling 6,000 square feet, the Shakespeare Exhibition Hall and the Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall. In addition to the display of all 82 of the Folger’s Shakespeare First Folios, a printing press—modeled on ones that printed the 1623 collection of Shakespeare’s plays—is close by in the Shakespeare Exhibition Hall. Visitors can try their hand at setting type as it was done in a 1623 print shop, work with friends to create a Shakespearean conversation, or see how a 17th century manuscript is transcribed into everyday language. Many rarely seen items from the Folger collection will be on exhibit, including Henry VIII’s schoolbook; the Pavier Quartos; and artifacts from actor Earle Hyman, who played Hamlet in a groundbreaking production at DC’s Howard University in 1951. Families with younger Shakespeare sleuths can follow clues along their own path through the exhibits. The Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall is a space where the Folger collection can be displayed in many configurations, including showstopping encounters with collection items and opportunities to explore the vast range of subjects covered by books in the Folger vaults. A dedicated gallery will host a range of changing exhibitions—beginning with a stunning display of books and other objects from the extraordinary collection of Stuart Rose. Highlights from the Rose collection will present literary and historical pieces that have been seldom displayed in public, creating a special opportunity to see rare books and manuscripts that must be seen and experienced. Exhibition design is by Studio Joseph with exhibition media interactives created by Bluecadet and exhibition experience and narrative by Storythings. Design for the Stuart Rose collection exhibition is by Studio A. - Hands-on Learning Lab
The Folger’s new center for all kinds of learning by all kinds of learners: investigate some of our collection items up close, have fun with Shakespeare, take part in summer camp sessions, participate in special sessions for teachers and students, participate in community play readings, develop poetry, playwriting, and songwriting, enjoy lively seminars, and attend demonstrations and workshops for adults led by world-class materials researchers and artists. New learning opportunities abound, many of them extensions of our exhibitions, research, conservation, programming, performance, and education work. - Collaborative Research Spaces
New study rooms are being created for researchers to consult about rare materials with Folger curators and conservators, along with multipurpose, flexible spaces for collaboration and seminars by the Folger Institute and others. The Reading Room features new ergonomic furniture designed by Luke Hughes, whose firm has designed spaces for the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, Yale School of Management, and Sheffield Cathedral. - Expanded Visitor Amenities
Designed to enhance the experience of all who come to the Folger, amenities include a new café in the Great Hall with comfortable seating areas for gathering with friends and family. An expanded gift shop offers mementos and merchandise inspired by the Folger and our collections. Updated restrooms are located on all floors. Elevator service to all public spaces is part of enhanced building accessibility. Infrastructure improvements include state of the art air conditioning systems, upgraded life safety and security, and new audiovisual enhancements to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for all. - Reconceived Researcher Services
The Folger Reading Room will offer rare materials to inform advanced research, inspire art and creation, and make the collection more accessible with a new service model. Beginning November 17, researchers can work in the Reading Room with rare materials from the Folger collection and all materials in early 2024.