Envisioning a Library

This rendering of McKim, Mead & White’s early vision for one of the East Room walls bears only a hint of resemblance to the finished space. While the coved ceiling with its series of painted lunettes and spandrels would remain, the scenes depicted here would be replaced with murals of an entirely different design. There would be no patterned red wall coverings. Instead of a single continuous bookcase ringing the room, there would be three, one atop the other, creating a wall of books.