Folger Shakespeare Librarysimilar businesses >

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The Folger holds the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, a collection so valuable that during World War II it was secretly evacuated to New England lest the Folger building's proximity to the Capitol put it in danger of being bombed. The Shakespeare collection, along with thousands of other Renaissance books, manuscripts and art works in the Folger's reading rooms, are off limits to all but qualified researchers, but there is still plenty to see for those who aren't to be Shakespearean scholars.

The Great Hall features Renaissance architecture and furniture and houses a rotating exhibit of items and books from the Folger's collections. An indoor Elizabethan theater re-creates the environment in which Shakespeare's works were first performed. Outside, the grounds are laid out in an Elizabethan garden. Tours of the interior are given six days a week at fixed times; garden tours are once every three weeks in the warmer half of the year. A large number of special events, including music, lectures, festivals and, of course, Shakespeare performances, are held in the Elizabethan theater. -- Gwendolyn Bradley