United States Capitol Visitor Center

Capitol Visitor Center Plaza

The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC ) is a supplement to the United States Capitol. It serves more than 4,000 tourists per day as a meeting place and the U.S. Congress as an expansion area.

It is located below the east side of the Capitol, between the Capitol and 1st Street East. The complex covers an area of ​​54,000 m², spread over three floors underground. The budget of the entire facility was $ 621 million.

The CVC has space for use by the Congress, including several new meeting and conference rooms. There is a large room, which is mostly used by congressional committees. The new Congress Auditorium, a theater with 450 seats, can be used by members of Congress or of the two Houses of Congress, if their rooms are not available.

The CVC officially opened on December 2, 2008. This day was chosen because it was the 145th anniversary of the installation of the Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford at the top of the Capitol in 1863, which meant the completion of the dome.

Design

The CVC has three underground levels, a balcony-like entrance, the Emancipation Hall ( 2nd level ) and the 3rd locked layer with new congressional offices and meeting rooms. The construction of the CVC represents the largest ever enlargement of the Capitol and has the base of the ' U.S. Capitol building complex more than doubled. '

Construction

The construction of the CVC was monitored by the architect of the Capitol. The item was exercised until the expiration of his term on February 4, 2007 by Alan M. Hantman. Currently, the post is vacant and is instead by the Deputy Architect of the Capitol, Stephen T. Ayers, exercised.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the CVC was held on 20 June 2000. Although provided according to the original plans for the January 2004 moved the date of completion, without the expansion areas for the House and Senate, to December 2 of 2008. From the calculated construction costs of $ 71 million were 671 million USD. The CVC has led to controversy, as it was over budget and behind schedule. Much has been caused by rising fuel costs, safety measures after the attacks of 11 September 2001 and inclement weather. At a debate on the CVC cost overruns MPs called it Jack Kingston " a monument to the inefficiency, incompetence and self-indulgence of the government. "

The first major construction contract worth nearly $ 100 million was in the spring of 2002 to Balfour Beatty (formerly Centex Construction ) This contract included the demolition work on the property, setting the slot walls, excavation, construction of piers, installation of utilities on the property, the concrete and structural steel works, waterproofing and construction of a new service tunnel. By July 2005, the Balfour Beatty Construction provided all excavations and structural measures completed and the roof terrace covered the entire structure of the CVC.

Visitor center

The area is planned as a waiting area for visitors who are waiting for a tour of the Capitol. The number of visitors of the Capitol has tripled to its current 3 million since 1970 of 1 million, this makes it difficult to handle the influx, caused by those amounts. In the past, visitors had to queue on the eastern staircase of the Capitol, sometimes handed the snake to 1st Street East. The wait could take hours and there was no protection from bad weather. Tickets could not be booked, but were issued in the order of arrival.

With the commissioning of the CVC, visitors now have a safe, wheelchair accessible and instructive place to wait for the start of their tour of the Capitol. The CVC can be freely explored by the visitors and hosts an exhibition hall, two gift shops and a food court with 530 seats. The visit of the CVC and the Capitol is free. Tours of the Capitol are also free and can be booked online.

Emancipation Hall

The Emancipation Hall is the main hall of the CVC is 1,900 m². It was originally called Great Hall, but the name was changed due to a law in Emancipation Hall. The bill was supported by Congressman Zach Wamp and Jesse L. Jackson Jr., he passed through Congress and was signed in January 2008 by President George W. Bush. Since the renaming was quite short, standing on some signs in the CVC still Great Hall. The Emancipation Hall has two large skylights of 9.1 m 21 m to one, never before seen, offer views of the dome of the Capitol. The skylights allow natural light into the hall. They are comprised of pools and seating on the roof terrace.

In the hall, the original plaster model of the Statue of Freedom is to see the bronze statue stands on the top of the dome of the Capitol. Since 1993, the plaster model in the rotunda of the basement was exhibited at the Constitution Avenue in the Russell Senate Office Building, across from the Capitol.

The hall is also an exhibition space for the National Statuary Hall 24 Statues Collection. The entire collection consists of two statues each state. The statues were donated in honor of respected citizens through their respective states. In recent years, all 100 sculptures were placed in the Capitol, many in the Statuary Hall. This has led to overcrowding and the relocation of some statues in the Emancipation Hall has again created some space in the Capitol. The Acting Architect of the Capitol Steven T. Ayers wants more statues to be moved into the Emancipation Hall.

Exhibition Hall

In the Exhibition Hall, there is a 3.4 m high plastic replica of the dome of the Capitol, you can touch. The hall is 28 m long by 2 curved marble walls dominates, equipped with artifacts and interactive touch-screen displays. In the collection there are documents that were signed by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Six models of the complete Capitol illustrate how the building has been extended over time. In two niches off the hall are two large flat screens, on which visitors can watch live broadcasts of the meetings of the House of Representatives and the Senate. A third niche behind the model of the dome shows the Lincoln catafalque, which was previously shown in the basement under the crypt.

Other areas

Two cinemas above the exhibition hall Exhibition Hall run continuously before a 13-minute film about the history of Congress and the Capitol complex. Visitors enter the cinema at the lower level of the Emancipation Hall and leave it at the level of the crypt. Both cinemas showing the same movie, but so that a uniform flow of tourists is created with staggered start times in the Capitol.

Outside the Emancipation Hall are also two gift shops, one on the north and one at the southern end. These replace the gift shop in the crypt.

The CVC also has a dining area with 530 seats, is intended to relieve the canteens of the office building of the Congress ..

Congress area

Over 16,000 m² are reserved for Congress. The largest part of this area claimed the new Auditorium of the Congress. The remaining area is predominantly converted to meeting rooms.

Operational areas

A number of tunnels, built as part of the CVC project. The first is a 300 m long truck tunnel, whose entrance is located near the Senate - storey car park in the north of Constitution Avenue. The tunnel will reduce the traffic on the Plaza and increase security, because the vehicles can be checked at a safe distance to the Capitol. A second tunnel was built as a combination of CVC and the Library of Congress. During the construction period a part of the East Capitol Street was blocked. The tunnel was completed in the winter of 2005.

Criticism

Republicans have criticized the fact that the CVC the religious heritage of America covers insufficiently from their perspective. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina said that it has the CVC failed, the religious heritage that was crucial to the American success, appropriate to honor. The former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has filed a petition calling for a stronger consideration of religion in the CVC.