Public Notice
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Located near Northeast Drive, across from the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol Building.
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Project
When the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) does not receive enough funding to pay for all maintenance and repairs required across the U.S. Capitol campus, work gets deferred due to budget constraints.
Behind the Scenes
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Perhaps it's the charm of the historic campus or the weight of the symbolism it carries around the world, but at the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), it's not hard to find an employee who has spent their entire career serving this treasured institution.
Behind the Scenes
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The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for managing the buildings and grounds on Capitol Hill, but it also maintains several facilities across the National Capital Region, including facilities in Fort Meade, Maryland.
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Corinthian columns are the most ornate, slender and sleek of the three Greek orders.
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The Ionic column is typically identified by its capital, which includes large paired spiral scrolls, or volutes.
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Doric columns typically have a simple, rounded capital at the top; a heavy, fluted or smooth column shaft; and no base. Flutes are vertical, parallel channels that run the length of a column.
History & Discoveries
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This Arbor Day, we celebrate the Capitol Grounds and Arboretum team's continued efforts to preserve and protect Olmsted's legacy — one of longstanding stewardship that's paying off every day.
Behind the Scenes
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Walking around the U.S. Capitol Grounds you can't help but be in awe of the impressive buildings and their historic meaning, what you probably don't know is that the U.S. Capitol Building is surrounded by an arboretum.
Programs & Events
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In February 2023, the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) opened the 27th annual joint orchid exhibit in partnership with Smithsonian Gardens.
Public Notice
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Articles include spotlights on the U.S. Capitol Grounds, U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG), sustainability and more.
Behind the Scenes
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The Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) Capitol Grounds and Arboretum staff are busy preparing for the upcoming growing season.
Place
The USBG Production Facility is located in D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood, about eight miles from Capitol Hill, and is home to some of the world's most exotic and beautiful plants. The facility opened in 1994 and is 85,000 square feet under glass divided into 34 greenhouse bays.
Public Notice
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The AOC's top priorities for the coming fiscal year are safety, security and accountability.
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During the mid-19th-century expansion of the U.S. Capitol, which added the House and Senate extensions, four private staircases were installed to allow representatives and senators to move quickly between their second-floor chambers and the building's first floor. Two are located near the House
Projects
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The Russell Senate Office Building courtyard was recently restored as a supplement to the Russell Exterior Envelope Project.
Basic page
Examples of African American artists with works featured in the United States Capitol and congressional office buildings.
History & Discoveries
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John F. N. Wilkinson, who served as the Assistant Law Librarian, was known for his memory of over 80,000 books that enabled him to retrieve the correct one with "the precision of a Swiss bell-ringer."
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Accomplishing these initiatives is critical to laying the foundation for the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) long-term success and providing a governance framework that supports effective management. Each strategic objective aligns with multiple strategic goals.
History & Discoveries
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From the time all of its pieces arrived in America in 1859, the 15,000-pound plaster Statue of Freedom has relied on many skilled hands over many generations to preserve it. But before each restoration effort, the beautiful plaster figure had to be cut into pieces. Repeatedly.
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The 1866 civil rights bill, which prohibited discrimination on the bases of race or previous condition of slavery, prefigured the 14th amendment to the Constitution. In the foreground of the mural, former slave Henry Garnet is shown speaking with newspaper editor Horace Greeley, who supported
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George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York. The mural depicts (from left to right) Robert R. Livingston, chancellor of the state of New York, administering the oath; Secretary of the Senate Samuel Otis holding the
Place
The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) manages all of the buildings and grounds on Capitol Hill, but we also maintain several facilities across the National Capital Region, including Fort Meade, Maryland.
Behind the Scenes
Article
The dedicated Architect of the Capitol (AOC) employees of the House Office Buildings Floor Care Division work tirelessly to ensure the Capitol campus is ready to welcome Members of Congress, staff and the visiting public.
Behind the Scenes
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Hours before the sun rises each morning, Zamboni-like scrubbing machines scuttle through the halls of the Senate office buildings. Each is operated by a dedicated team of Architect of the Capitol (AOC) specialists who spend hours ensuring the marble flooring sparkles.
History & Discoveries
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Guesses for what is behind the Capitol Building's smallest doors are as varied as the architectural details that encompass the Capitol campus.
Programs & Events
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Our gardeners have grown almost 2,000 poinsettia plants to brighten up the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) Conservatory's annual holiday exhibit "Season's Greenings." An expert team at USBG cares for the annual poinsettia crop with daily attentiveness starting in July.
History & Discoveries
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Is anyone buried in the U.S. Capitol? The term "crypt" has long referred to a space beneath the main floor of a church or a chamber in a mausoleum. For many of us it suggests somber, stony silence and perhaps dusty coffins. The Capitol Crypt, however, is a different thing altogether.
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The Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) annual Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) provides the results of the AOC's financial performance each fiscal year (FY). It demonstrates the AOC's commitment to the accomplishment of its mission and accountability for its financial resources to the
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The Lincoln catafalque is a platform constructed in 1865 to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln while the president's body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. It is a simple base of rough pine boards nailed together and covered with black cloth.