The north extension of the Capitol houses the US Senate Chamber which opened in 1859. Read more.
The U.S. Capitol Grounds, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (also known for designing Central Park and the National Zoo), are as important to American history as the U.S. Capitol building itself. Read more.
The south extension of the Capitol houses the US House of Representatives Chamber which opened in 1857. Read more.
The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center provides a welcoming and educational environment for visitors to learn about the unique characteristics of the U.S. Congress and the history of the U.S. Capitol. Read more.
The Cannon Building House Office Building is the oldest Congressional office building outside of the Capitol Building. Read more.
Completed in the spring of 1933, the Longworth House Office Building is the second of three office buildings constructed for the United States House of Representatives. Read more.
The Rayburn House Office Building, completed in early 1965, is the third of three office buildings constructed for the United States House of Representatives. Read more.
Constructed in 1939, today the Ford building is occupied mainly by staff of various committees of the House of Representatives, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Architect of the Capitol. Read more.
The Hart Senate Office Building is the third office structure designed and built to serve the United States Senate, it adjoins the Dirksen Senate Office Building Read more.
The Russell Senate Office Building (built 1903-1908) is the oldest of the Senate office buildings. Read more.
The Dirksen Senate Office Building was the second of three office buildings constructed for the United States Senate. Read more.
Finished and occupied in 1935, the Supreme Court's great marble temple is a fitting home for the nation's third branch of government. Read more.
Immediately after it opened in 1897, the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building was widely considered to be the most beautiful, educational and interesting building in Washington. Read more.
When the building opened in 1938, the Library’s shelving capacity tripled to 15 million volumes. Read more.
United States Botanic Garden exhibits span 150 million years, the range of global environments, as well as botany, economy and culture all the ways plants are important to how we live. Read more.
Capitol Grounds cover more than 274 acres. Some of that area has been developed into parkland, most notably the Senate Park that stretches from Capitol Square to Union Station to the north. Read more.
Opened in 1980, measuring 500 feet wide and 400 feet deep, the James Madison Building is the largest library structure in the world. Read more.
Bartholdi Park was created in 1932 and named for Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the historic fountain located at its center. Read more.
In addition to its active use by Congress, the Capitol building is a museum of American art and history. Each year, it is visited by an millions of people from around the world. Read more.
The O'Neill Building was constructed in the 1960s, and named after former Speaker of the House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill in 2012. Ownership was transferred to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2017. Read more.
The Summerhouse, a hexagon-shaped brick structure set into the sloping hillside of the West Front lawn on the U.S. Capitol's Senate side, has offered rest and shelter to travelers for over a century. Read more.
The Marshall Building houses agencies that support the work of U.S. Federal Courts including the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Federal Judicial Center and U.S. Sentencing Commission. Read more.
The Capitol Reflecting Pool is located at the eastern end of the National Mall. Six acres in size, occupying over half of the Union Square area that includes the Ulysses S. Grant memorial. Read more.
The tapered, cylindrical granite pedestal holds four over-life-size bronze figures, with a portrait statue of Garfield at the top and three allegorical figures representing phases of his career below. Read more.
Jets of water play on the majestic, bearded and muscular king of the sea; his sons the tritons blowing conches; frolicking, horseback-riding Nereids; and water-spouting turtles, frogs and sea serpent. Read more.
The white marble Peace Monument was erected in 1877-1878 to commemorate the naval deaths at sea during the Civil War. Read more.
The bells are automatically operated to strike the hour and sound on the quarter hour; they can also be played manually, as they are annually on July 4th at 2 p.m. Read more.
The memorial to Ulysses S. Grant was dedicated in 1922. It is located in Union Square, west of the U.S. Capitol Building, by the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The bronze elements were restored in 2016. Read more.
