AOC's TLC Keeps Historic Furniture Looking New
The Senate Office Buildings Painting and Refinishing Branch gives hands-on attention to help blend vintage and new into a cohesive collection.
Delve deeper into the stories behind the people, art, history and grounds.
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History & Discoveries
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By sharon gang | May 5, 2015
The Senate Office Buildings Painting and Refinishing Branch gives hands-on attention to help blend vintage and new into a cohesive collection.
By laura condeluci | April 27, 2015
Because weather and time have not been kind to the Grant Memorial, AOC staff developed a preservation strategy to restore the Grant Memorial to its original condition.
By sarah davis | April 21, 2015
High in the sky, about 50 feet above the roof, a crane is peeking out of the Cannon House Office Building. This tower crane is part of the AOC's renewal project to improve and preserve the building, making it more efficient, comfortable and safer, while retaining its historic grandeur.
By aoc curator | April 15, 2015
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death, AOC Curator Barbara Wolanin details the days he lay in state at the U.S. Capitol.
By aoc staff | April 10, 2015
Many ornamental and functional cast iron parts of the U.S. Capitol Dome are so broken and badly damaged that they cannot be repaired on site. For the restoration, we traveled to the Salt Lake City foundry to see firsthand how the work to re-create these pieces is done.
By ted bechtol | October 29, 2014
Searching for the Perfect U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree
By ted bechtol | October 29, 2014
During beautiful summer days, AOC's Superintendent of the Capitol Grounds traveled around Chippewa National Forest in Cass Lake, Minnesota, to search for and select the perfect 2014 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Capitol Christmas Tree. The criteria includes height, shape and other characteristics.
By erin nelson | October 22, 2014
This doing good story is of an AOC engineering technician who volunteers within his Davidsonville, Maryland, community. As a member of Riva Trace Baptist Church and volunteer for their community projects, including their food pantry, he has helped hundreds of families.
By erin nelson | October 16, 2014
While the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) core mission is to preserve the buildings in our care, we realize that to be successful, preserving knowledge is just as important as preserving the buildings.
By franklin bradley | October 14, 2014
Every two years, citizens across the country elect or re-elect members of the House of Representatives, who then come to Washington, D.C., to move into their offices. The Architect of the Capitol moves thousands of boxes, supplies and unique items among the members' storerooms.
By sharon gang | October 2, 2014
In a world where everyone carries a cell phone and some carry more than one, people still check the historic clocks on the Capitol campus for the time of day.
By kristen frederick | October 1, 2014
The Architect of the Capitol employees who commute to the United States Capitol campus via bike have formed a group to promote cycling to fellow AOC employees. Read their thoughts and advice on commuting to work via bicycle, including bike safety.
By matt guilfoyle | September 29, 2014
Addressing the stone pandemic across the Capitol campus takes a team of historic preservationists, structural engineers and stonemasons, among others.
By sharon gang | July 21, 2014
The planting of a tree in honor of Anne Frank on the U.S. Capitol Grounds
By sharon gang | May 20, 2014
Historic preservation tricks using "windows" and "columns" in the U.S. Capitol.