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Programs & Events

Article

A Garden for Everyone

By USBG Staff
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The U.S. Botanic Garden is committed to welcoming every visitor by providing accessible facilities and inclusive programming. Several efforts ensure that all can explore the USBG, including accessible routes, hand rails, all-terrain wheelchairs for loan, guides available in Braille and more.
Programs & Events

Article

Mobility Assistance: There When You Need It!

By Sharon Gang
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Two years ago when I needed the accessibility operations provided by the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) on the Capitol campus, they were there for me. Functioning escalators and elevators were invaluable to me as I recovered from knee replacement surgery. Thanks to modern science, I have a new
Projects

Article

Seeing Through Concrete

By R.C. "Skip" Vaughn
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Architect of the Capitol's R.C. "Skip" Vaughn, Capital Projects Administrator, gives a quick project update from the building utilities phase of the Cannon Renewal. As part of the Cannon Renewal Project, the team is using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to plan and execute its work. GPR drawings
New Target Test
Projects

Article

Capitol Rotunda Restoration

By Matt Guilfoyle
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The restoration of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda will ensure this hallowed space will be enjoyed by generations for years to come. Work includes removing hazardous materials, restoring ironwork, upgrading electrical and mechanical systems, installing new lighting and repainting.
Logo. Text: Sustainable SITES Initiative.
Public Notice

Article

Good News for Sustainable Landscapes

By AOC Staff
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Sustainable landscaping program SITES, developed by United States Botanic Garden (USBG) and partners, was launched today by Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI). SITES is the most comprehensive program and toolkit for developing sustainable landscapes. Its rating system can be applied to
Painted portrait of J. George Stewart, Eighth Architect of the Capitol.

Person

J. George Stewart

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October 1, 1954 - May 24, 1970 (died in office). J. George Stewart was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1954 to fill the vacancy caused by David Lynn's retirement. Like his two predecessors, Stewart was not an architect, but unlike Woods and Lynn, he had no prior experience with the Architect
History & Discoveries

Article

History with a Side of Mystery: the Rotunda Benches

By Sharon Gang
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The benches currently in the Capitol Rotunda were used in the chapel at Saint Elizabeths Hospital for many years. The photo above shows the benches in the chapel, which was decorated for Christmas circa 1896. History The AOC cares for the benches in the Capitol Rotunda whose cast-iron supports and
Doing Good

Article

Doing Good: Investing in the Next Generation

By Erin Nelson
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What do you want to achieve in your lifetime? How will your achievements improve the world and define your legacy when you are gone? While these are hard questions for even the most mature adults, they are questions Emmanuel Akinjide poses to every high school student he mentors. "I want to help
Behind the Scenes

Article

AOC's TLC Keeps Historic Furniture Looking New

By Sharon Gang
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Hands-on Attention Helps Blend Vintage and New into Cohesive Collection Upon the recent retirement of a long-time senator, the Senate Office Buildings Painting and Refinishing Branch is set to work on one of the oldest desks in the Senate office buildings. Perched on a large dolly like an elephant
Projects

Article

Restoring Grant's Glory

By Laura Condeluci
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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.
Projects

Article

Bringing Cannon Back to the Future

By Sarah Davis
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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 Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) 10-year renewal project to improve and preserve the Cannon Building, which has not received a comprehensive systems upgrade
Drawing.
History & Discoveries

Article

The Lincoln Catafalque in the U.S. Capitol

By Curator Division
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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.
Projects

Article

Expert Metalwork Revealed in Restoration of the U.S. Capitol Dome

By AOC Staff
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Restoring the U.S. Capitol Dome is a massive project. It's exciting to uncover the artistry of a long-gone era and to see elements of the Dome that have not been seen for decades. More than 1,300 cracks in the nearly nine million pound cast iron Dome are being repaired by experts working day and
Behind the Scenes

Article

Searching for the Perfect U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

By Ted Bechtol
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By Ted Bechtol, Superintendent of the Capitol Grounds For two beautiful summer days in late July, I traveled around Chippewa National Forest in Cass Lake, Minnesota, to search for the perfect U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It is my job, as Superintendent of the Capitol Grounds, to evaluate and select
Programs & Events

Article

2014 Christmas Tree Selection

By Ted Bechtol
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For two beautiful summer days in late July, I traveled around Chippewa National Forest in Cass Lake, Minnesota, to search for the perfect U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It is my job, as Superintendent of the Capitol Grounds, to evaluate and select the Capitol Christmas Tree from a different national
Doing Good

Article

Doing Good: Richard Edmonds

By Erin Nelson
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In today's world there is no shortage of articles, news segments and seminars on couponing, but few, if any, offer the return and success that Richard Edmonds and his church have found through their food pantry. As a member of Riva Trace Baptist Church and volunteer for their community projects
Crowd in a room.
Behind the Scenes

Article

AOC Employees ExCEL in New Programs

By Erin Nelson
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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.
Behind the Scenes

Article

AOC Moves the House Office Buildings Storerooms

By Franklin Bradley
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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.
Sculpture with a clock.
History & Discoveries

Article

Bells, Buzzers, Clicks and Clocks

By Sharon Gang
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On a weekly basis, Library Buildings and Grounds Electrician Eugene (Geno) Blowe winds the magnificent clock above the west door in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, known as Mr. Flanagan's clock for the man who created it. First thing on Monday mornings, he
Behind the Scenes

Article

AOC Bike Commuters: In Their Own Words

By Kristen Frederick
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While commuting to work in Washington, D.C., will always be a challenge, few modes of transportation leave the commuter with this feeling: invigoration. In fact, that's how Shaun Abell, Horticulturist with the U.S. Botanic Garden, describes his daily commute by bike every morning. And he's in good
Two people working with stone.
Projects

Article

Crumbling Down and Building Up

By Matt Guilfoyle
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Addressing the stone pandemic across the Capitol campus takes a team of historic preservationists, structural engineers and stonemasons, among others.
History & Discoveries

Article

Anne Frank Tree at the Capitol

By Sharon Gang
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Although I read Anne Frank's diary years ago, it wasn't until May of this year that I had the opportunity to visit the secret annex in Amsterdam where Anne, along with family members and friends, hid from the Nazis for two years. While I was in Holland, a tree was planted in Anne's honor on the
Painted portrait of David Lynn, Seventh Architect of the Capitol.

Person

David Lynn

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David Lynn was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1923 to fill the vacancy caused by Elliott Woods' death.
Behind the Scenes

Article

What's Hiding in National Statuary Hall?

By Sharon Gang
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Historic preservation tricks using "windows" and "columns" in the U.S. Capitol.
Behind the Scenes

Article

National Garden Highlights Regional Plants and Sustainable Practices

By Matt Guilfoyle
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As Congress meets in the halls of the U.S. Capitol, a small group of AOC employees toil in the heat a few hundred yards away to help a living national treasure thrive in an urban center. This is the National Garden at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Conceived as an outdoor laboratory for gardening in
Programs & Events

Article

Meet the Carillonneur of the Capitol

By Erin Nelson
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Capitol Hill, with its rich history and iconic buildings, allows for an eclectic mix of professions. Jim Saenger, the Capitol's Carillonneur, has perhaps one of the most unique and least visible jobs on the Hill. His contractual agreement with the Architect of the Capitol, directed by the 1963
Doing Good

Article

AOC Employee Gives Back to the Community

By Erin Nelson
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Buddy Paddy spends his days caring for the trees on Capitol Hill as a Tree Surgeon with the AOC Capitol Grounds. His job involves examining approximately 4,500 trees throughout the year to ensure that they are healthy and continue growing to maturity. His evenings are spent in much the same way, as
Behind the Scenes

Article

Saving Energy, Preserving History

By AOC Staff
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Here at the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), our challenge is unique – we must maintain aging, iconic buildings while adapting to state-of-the-art technology and increasing responsiveness to environmental, security and safety considerations in a rich historical setting. A building’s lifetime
Face of a statue.
History & Discoveries

Article

Inspiration from History

By Sharon Gang
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When I point out the Car of History clock in National Statuary Hall to friends and family I inevitably get the same question: "Where's the car?" This marble sculpture, created in 1819, is among the oldest works of art in the Capitol. It depicts Clio, the muse of History, holding a book in which she
History & Discoveries

Article

Monuments Man Creates Monumental Statue

By Franklin Bradley
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Not every fine art sculptor inspires a character in a WWII action blockbuster starring George Clooney, but not every sculptor is Walker K. Hancock, one of the Monuments Men, whose work resides in the U.S. Capitol, Library of Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States, and who is a true