5 Causes to Go to the Newly Renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.

The midcentury modernist design movement, which swept through the postwar U.S. between 1945 and 1969, is still one of the most revered styles today. From Charles and Ray Eames’s instantly recognizable leather lounge chair to John Lautner’s 1960 UFO-like Malin residence nestled within the Hollywood Hills, the creatives whose work shined especially bright during the movement are unparalleled. And one prolific visionary who helped shape the coveted midcentury style is German American Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In fact, the last project he completed before his death in 1969 was Washington, D.C.’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, which just underwent a $210 million three-year renovation courtesy of Netherlands-based Mecanoo and New York firm OTJ Architects. The library, which originally opened in 1972, is finally ready for visitors to explore its freshly expanded and updated spaces.

Among its numerous new additions, there’s a rooftop event space and terrace, a double-height reading room, and a dramatic set of monumental stairs—perhaps the perfect Instagram-friendly backdrop to a day in the nation’s capital. Now is the time to pay the landmark structure a visit, and here are five reasons why.

Reading Is Only One of the Many Things to Do Here

Generally, libraries are simply massive structures whose sole purpose is to store books. That was definitely the case when the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library opened in the early 1970s. Now, however, reading is only one of quite a few things visitors can do here, courtesy of the new elements the architects installed. There’s an auditorium and conference center, a rooftop event space and terrace, dedicated exhibition spaces, a coworking area, a two-story reading room, a children’s room and playground-inspired slide, a café and patio, a creative lab for music production, and a dance studio. The only thing visitors can’t do is book a room and sleep there.

Richard Reyes-Gavilan, the executive director of the D.C. Public Library (DCPL), which oversees the city’s 26 libraries, says, “The District’s central library is a destination for residents, tourists, and anyone who is looking for any of a variety of services that may or may not be related to books.”

It’s Close to Everything—Including the Best Hotels

Luckily, the city is chock-full of stunning hotels, including the Dupont Circle Hotel, which also underwent an extensive renovation before reopening in October 2020. With interiors by celebrity designer Martin Brudnizki and Irish trailblazer Clodagh, who outfitted the hotel’s new nearly 3,000-square-foot penthouse suite and the lobby. The hotel also doubles as a gallery with an impressive art collection featuring the likes of Irish sculptor John Behan and American actor turned photographer Dennis Hopper.