Who designed the Jefferson Building and how much did it cost?
Its construction was based on a design, submitted in competition, by architects John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz. The building cost almost $6.5 million, $150,000 less than expected. The building officially reopened to the public in May 1997 following some 12 years of renovation, with a new Visitors’ Center and special area studies reading rooms for use of foreign language collections.
