US Capitol Visitor Center to open in December

The Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. has been the most costly, and the largest, construction project in the history of the Capitol. It is set to open its doors to the public on December 2, top congressional leaders announced this week.

The opening comes approximately eight years after the groundbreaking at the east side of the Capitol, at a site situated between the Supreme Court and Capitol buildings. The final project costs are expected to reach $621 million, which is more than double the original estimate of $265 million.

Congressional leaders, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Republic House leader John Boehner announced that the official opening would coincide with the 145th anniversary of the Capitol dome completion. On December 2, 1863, the Statue of Freedom was place on top of the new dome.

The new visitor center will cover 580,000 square feet of space, and feature two large movie theatres for showing orientation videos and an exhibition hall with displays of artifacts, documents and materials from the Library of Congress and the National Archives. Visitor facilities will also include a cafeteria seating 550, a selection of gift shops and other amenities for visitors waiting outside for Capitol tours.

The original completion date was in January of 2005, but the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks delayed construction a number of times, as additional security components were put into place. The center was also enlarged to incorporate additional work space and meeting rooms.

http://www.aoc.gov/cvc