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Project Background
The Capitol Visitor Center will make the U.S. Capitol more accessible, convenient, secure, and informative for millions of visitors each year. Preparatory construction activities began in the fall of 2001, including relocation of existing utilities and visitor screening facilities, and implementation of a comprehensive tree preservation program. Major construction began in July 2002 and the project will be complete in the fall of 2008. The opening date of the facility, as determined by the House and Senate Leadership, is December 2, 2008.
In November 1800, over 200 years ago, the U.S. Congress first gathered in the first completed portion of the United States Capitol, the small, cramped north wing. In the 1850s, major extensions to the North and South ends of the Capitol were authorized because of the great westward expansion of our nation and the resultant growth of Congress. Since that time, the U.S. Capitol and its stately dome have become international symbols of our representative democracy.
The Need
While the Capitol evolved with a changing nation and the growing needs of Congress, it has failed to keep pace with the needs of an ever-increasing number of visitors. In fact, just in the last few decades, tourism to our nation’s Capitol has increased from one million in 1970 to more than three million in 2000. After waiting in lines outside for timed-entry passes and then again for the start of their tour, visitors often enter the Capitol tired, hungry, and with little knowledge of the workings of Congress. If visitors arrive after all passes have been distributed, which often occurs by mid-day, they are turned away.
 Today's Congress understands that the people who come to Washington, D.C., need better opportunities to learn about and more fully understand their Constitution, their Congress and the history of their Capitol. The Capitol needs a better way to regulate and manage the large flow of tourists so that maximum access can be achieved. And once inside, visitors need better amenities, better accessibility, and improved provisions for safety and security.
On June 20, 2000, members of the Capitol Preservation Commission (CPC)--the guiding board of Congressional leaders who spearhead the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) initiative on behalf of the entire U.S. Congress--ceremonially broke ground to signal the beginning of a process that will culminate on December 2, 2008, when the CVC will open its doors to the public.
Planning Begins
The proposal for a CVC began to crystallize in the mid-1970s with the issuance of the Architect of the Capitol report "Toward a Master Plan for the United States Capitol." In 1991, Congress authorized funding for conceptual planning and design of a visitor center. In 1995, the design report was issued. Changes in security needs, as underscored by the tragic murder of two Capitol police officers in 1998, and other safety and accessibility considerations required revisiting and revalidating the 1995 report at that point. The updated plan was presented to the CPC members at a meeting on Oct. 15, 1999. Decisions by the CPC members led to the start of pre-construction activities in the fall of 2001. The events of 9/11 necessitated some additional design changes and prompted Congress to provide all the necessary funding--an additional $100 million--to move the project into construction.
Project Design
 The architectural firm RTKL Associates Inc., which was already involved in developing perimeter security elements around the Capitol, was tasked to design the new Visitor Center. The design locates the CVC below the East Capitol Grounds, so as to enhance rather than detract from the appearance of the Capitol and its historic Frederick Law Olmsted landscape. When completed, the CVC will contain 580,000 square feet on three levels and is approximately three-quarters the size of the Capitol itself (775,000 sq. ft.). The project footprint is actually larger than that of the Capitol by nearly 18,000 sq. ft.
The project will include space for exhibits, visitor comfort, food service, two orientation theaters, an auditorium, gift shops, security, a service tunnel for truck loading and deliveries, mechanical facilities, storage, and much needed space for the House and Senate. When completed, the CVC will preserve and maximize public access to the Capitol while greatly enhancing the experience for the millions who come each year to walk its historic corridors and experience the democratic process in action.
Construction
The work on the CVC is proceeding in several successive phases, which overlap to some degree. After the CPC revalidated the 1999 design update, the Architect of the Capitol proceeded with design development. The next phase began in the fall of 2000 with the creation of construction documents; this phase concluded in winter 2001-2002. Recognizing the magnitude and complexity of the Visitor Center, the Architect of the Capitol hired the Gilbane Building Company to manage the construction project. Gilbane has managed the construction of numerous projects in the Washington, D.C. metro area, including the World War II Memorial.
Next, project bids were sought, and the first major construction contract was awarded in spring 2002. This contract, called "Sequence 1 - Foundation/Structure" and worth nearly $100 million, was awarded to Centex Construction Company, whose Mid Atlantic Division is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The contract involved site demolition, slurry wall construction, excavation, construction of columns, installation of site utilities, construction of the concrete and steel structure, waterproofing, and construction of a new service tunnel. By July 2005, Centex completed all excavation and structural activities and the roof deck covered the entire CVC structure. The western half of the roof slab was completed by January 2005 to the extent necessary to support inaugural activities like the troop review and the presidential motorcade, maintaining a historic tradition.
Current Activities
Since the Inauguration in 2005, the bulk of work on the CVC has continued inside the structure by the Sequence 2 contractor, Manhattan Construction Company.
Throughout the site, painters, carpenters, plumbers, masons, electricians, carpet installers, and other professionals continue to address punch-list items throughout the facility. Way-finding and room signs have been installed throughout the CVC public spaces. In the Exhibition Hall, all of the major exhibitry components are in place.
One notable change in the CVC is that on December 22, 2007, Public Law 110-139 officially changed the name of the Capitol Visitor Center great hall to Emancipation Hall.
 Audio-visual technicians continue to test the projection equipment and sound systems in the North and South Orientation Theaters and in the Congressional Auditorium. In the East Front, crews have completed the Gallery Level ceiling plaster work and have removed the scaffolding. Masons have completed the installation of stone around the Rotunda Door and are now setting the stair tread stones for the south side staircase. Also in the East Front, electricians have installed the large central bronze light fixture and four smaller custom fixtures along the south stair.
Outside, workers have completed placing concrete for the curving stone approach ramp leading to the CVC's south entrance. In the LOC tunnel, all of the major plaster and stone work is complete.
 Aside from the main construction, the project continues to move forward on other fronts. The Exhibition Hall, designed by Ralph Appelbaum and Associates is nearing completion. The 13-minute Orientation film, by Donna Lawrence Productions, has been completed and the smaller House and Senate films, to be shown in the Exhibition Hall, are also finished.
Meanwhile, another contractor, Cortina Productions, is nearing completion of the numerous videos and interactive programs being designed for the Exhibition Hall, among them a virtual tour of the Capitol and a Congressional Quiz.
In addition, the CVC food service contract was awarded effective May 31, 2007, to Restaurant Associates. Restaurant Associates provides food services to a number of well-known museums, performing art centers, and institutions, including The National Gallery of Art; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and the Smithsonian Institution; National Museum of American History; National Museum of Natural History; National Museum of the American Indian; and the Reynold’s Center/Portrait Gallery.
On the administrative front, our CVC Operations Transition Team continues work to stand up the new organization that is headed by Ms. Terrie Rouse, Chief Executive Officer for Visitor Services. The Architect of the Capitol continues to work with JM Zell Partners, an operations consultant. JM Zell Partners is involved in an intensive effort to update and refine their earlier recommendations regarding personnel and procedures, as well as identify the most critical and urgent actions needed to ensure that all operational elements are in place for a smooth opening of the Capitol Visitor Center.
For More Information
For more CVC facts and information, visit the Project Fact Sheet.
All activities related to the Capitol Visitor Center take place under the direction of the Capitol Preservation Commission (CPC) and are guided by Acting Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers, AIA, and CVC Project Executive Bernie Ungar.
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