Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building

About

The Thomas Jefferson Building is one of the Library of Congress's three buildings on Capitol Hill, directly east of the U.S. Capitol. It is home to the visitor experience for the nation's largest library, and most people come to see the building itself.

The Great Hall is lined with marble columns, mosaics and painted ceilings, and a balcony overlooks the Main Reading Room, the domed hall where researchers work. Exhibitions in the building change through the year. You can walk the Great Hall and exhibitions on your own, or join an hour-long docent-led tour that covers the building's art, architecture and symbolism. Tours check in at the ground floor information desk.

Admission is free, but you need a free timed-entry ticket for the Jefferson Building. Tickets are released 30 days ahead, and free same-day tickets go online each day at 9 a.m. Eastern. One person can reserve up to 20. The building is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Visitation peaks from March through July.

Every visitor passes through airport-style security, and bags are checked again on the way out. A cloakroom is on the ground floor, and seating is provided throughout the building. The Madison Building across Independence Avenue has an accessible cafeteria and coffee shop open to the public on weekdays. The closest Metro is Capitol South on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines, about two blocks away, and Union Station on the Red Line is about half a mile.

Accessibility

The Thomas Jefferson Building is wheelchair accessible. The Library says all of its buildings are fully accessible, and its docent-led tours are designed to be accessible too.

The main visitor entrance is at the top of the Grand Staircase on First Street, so wheelchair users should use the ADA entrance at the driveway level below the staircase instead. The Library has no public parking, including no accessible parking, so plan to take transit or get dropped off. From the Capitol South Metro station, which has elevators, it is about two blocks.

Wheelchairs are loaned first come, first served at the Visitor Services Office in the Jefferson and Madison buildings. Accessible restrooms are marked by signs in each building. The Madison Building, across Independence Avenue, has an accessible entrance at First and C Streets SE, up one block of hill from the Metro elevator with a ramp over 100 feet long. Another accessible Madison entrance is on Independence Avenue between First and Second Streets SE. The Madison cafeteria and coffee shop are accessible.

Assistive listening devices for tours and programs, and sign language interpreters for docent-led tours, can be requested ahead. The Library asks for ADA requests at least five business days in advance at ada@loc.gov or (202) 707-6362. A TTY pay phone is in the Madison Building near the Independence Avenue entrance. The Library's assisted evacuation plans include areas of refuge, evacuation chairs and elevator use for non-fire emergencies. People who cannot use standard print can learn about the free talking-book service of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at (202) 707-9275.

Checked by Accessible America, September 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Washington, DC

• Smithsonian's National Zoo (Washington)
• National Air and Space Museum (Washington)
• National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington)
• National Museum of Natural History (Washington)
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (Washington)
• Washington Monument (Washington)

Photo credits

• Marble columns and gilded, painted arches surround the second floor of the Great Hall.: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• The domed Main Reading Room with rings of wooden desks, seen from the balcony.: Packer1028, CC0 (source)
• The copper dome and lantern atop the Thomas Jefferson Building under a gray sky.: Baileypalblue, Public domain (source)