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.
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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.
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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.
Highlight
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
Article
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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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.
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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
Behind the Scenes
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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
Article
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
Article
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
Article
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.
Basic page
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
Highlight
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.
Programs & Events
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This year the Capitol Christmas Tree hails from Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina; it is extra special because of the forest's historical ties with U.S. Capitol Grounds landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
History & Discoveries
Article
Discover the myths, mysteries and folklore of this historic American building.
Projects
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While light fixtures are like jewelry to a room, they can also set a tone for the significance of the space. Naturally, they also provide illumination to enable work and safe movement.
Behind the Scenes
Article
The mission of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) continues year-round, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our buildings never sleep, and the work never stops. This is especially true for the dedicated workers at the Capitol Power Plant.
Highlight
Some of the oldest and most famous interior features of the Capitol are located near the entrance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber. These six corncob columns, designed ca. 1808 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, are among the most unusual and significant architectural works of the early Republic.
Programs & Events
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Visitors can explore the galleries and gardens to learn how inventive ideas in agriculture, both scientific and social, sustain and enrich life and how growing and cooking food connects people with each other and their communities.
Highlight
Amelia Mary Earhart (1897-c.1937) was a record-setting aviator, an author, and a businesswoman. This statue was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Kansas in 2022. Sculptors Mark and George Lundeen are brothers; they also sculpted the statue of John L. "Jack" Swigert.