Cool Cannon Construction Finds

During the process of renewing the Cannon House Office Building, workers have found hidden treasures that had been lost or discarded by the laborers who constructed the building more than 100 years ago. Here's a small sampling of what has been discovered since the start of the Cannon Renewal project in 2015.

Image

House curator Farar Elliott and Architect of the Capitol curator Michele Cohen review the historic items that were found during the initial phase of the Cannon Renewal project.

Image

Newspapers and a spout.

• Discarded and crumpled newspapers, some 100 years old, have been found behind the walls and in the ceilings.
• Excavation in the east basement corridor led to the discovery of this bronze spout that was most likely used on a pipe connection.

Image

Image

Construction materials and bottles.

• Construction materials used during the original building construction in the early 1900s have been a common find.
• Bottles of all shapes and sizes were found hidden behind walls during demolition.

Image

A bowler hat.

• Nestled in a first-floor crawlspace near the southwest elevators, an electrician discovered a bowler hat that may be from the days of the Cannon Building's original construction. Before the ubiquity of hard hats on construction sites, it was common for workers in the early 1900s to wear felt bowler hats.