Library of Congress Souvenir Brick

When I started work at the Library of Congress twelve years ago I was excited about it. After thirty years in health care I would be working at a very unusual and one of a kind place. I could walk to work, come home for lunch, and spend ten years “toiling” as a federal employee. My job was measuring performance in the infrastructure services. And that included all of the facilities. Back then, the Capitol visitor center was under construction and we had an opportunity to see the construction first hand. I was also able to participate in ground breaking ceremonies. On of the events included a breaking down of the Jefferson Building wall to create the tunnel that would connect the Capitol building to the library. The other day I was looking for something at home and came across a piece of brick that I always kept on my desk when I worked at the library. After the ground breaking ceremony all of the bricks that were removed were saved to give as “gifts” for special occasions. That day I got a piece of a brick that would have been thrown out, but it meant the same to me. When I retired I took the momento home. It is actually a part of the original Library of Congress wall that was built back in the 1890’s or so. So I am still connected to the famous buildings in Washington DC in a quite unexpected way.