Congressional office buildings
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The congressional office buildings are the office buildings used by the United States Congress to augment the limited space in the United States Capitol. The congressional office buildings are part of the Capitol Complex, and are thus under the authority of the Architect of the Capitol and protected by the United States Capitol Police. The office buildings house the individual offices of each U.S. Representative and Senator as well as committee hearing rooms, staff rooms, multiple cafeterias, and areas for support, committee, and maintenance staff.
The congressional office buildings are connected to the Capitol by means of underground pedestrian tunnels, some of which are equipped with small railcars shuttling users to and from the Capitol, which together form the Capitol subway system. Congressional pages are responsible for carrying packages and messages from the two chambers to the buildings.
The three Senate office buildings are along Constitution Avenue north of the Capitol:
- Russell Senate Office Building (RSOB), opened in 1909,[1] named after Senator Richard Russell Jr. (1897-1971), of Georgia in 1972[2][3]
- Dirksen Senate Office Building (DSOB, opened in 1958),[4] named after Senator (and longtime majority / minority leader) Everett Dirksen (1896-1969), of Illinois[3]
- Hart Senate Office Building (HSOB, completed 1982), named for Senator Philip A. Hart (1912-1976) of Michigan
The three House office buildings are along Independence Avenue son the southside of the Capitol:
- Cannon House Office Building (CHOB, completed 1908), named after longtime Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon (1836-1926),[3]
- Longworth House Office Building (LHOB, completed 1933), named after Speaker Nicholas Longworth (1869-1931), of Ohio[3]
- Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB, completed 1965), named after Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), of Texas[3]
A fourth building, the more recent Ford House Office Building, named for Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006), longtime United States Representative (congressman) from Michigan, House minority leader, then selected by President Richard M. Nixon as his second Vice President in 1973, and later 38th President of the United States (served 1974-1977). The multi-use history of the site and structure built 1939, used formerly to house the U.S. Bureau of the Census (part of the U.S. Department of Commerce), then occupied by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s fingerprint records, sits a few blocks further southwest of the others and the Capitol; and because known for a while as House Annex-2, it currently houses additional committee staff and administrative offices.
A fifth building formerly called House Annex-1, for House of Representatives staff is the O'Neill House Office Building (previously known as the "House Annex-1") was named after former Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O'Neill (1912-1994), of Massachusetts. The building was demolished in 2002. However, in 2008, Federal Office Building No. 8 (formerly the headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) was renovated, being renamed the replacement O'Neill House Office Building in 2012. The building was transferred from the operations of the General Services Administration to the Architect of the Capitol in 2017. It currently houses both House administrative staff as well as offices for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The U.S. Capitol Complex also includes a Page Residence Hall and a Capitol Power Plant, both on the House / southside of the Capitol.
References
[edit]- ^ "100 Year-Old Russell Senate Office Building: Getting Some "Work Done"". Architect of the Capitol. May 13, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ Zeitz, Joshua (September 30, 2018). "Why It's Time to Rename the Russell Office Building". Politico Magazine. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Worth, Fred L. (1988). Strange and fascinating facts about Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.: Crown Publishers. p. 60. ISBN 0517641135.
- ^ "About Senate Office Buildings | Dirksen Senate Office Building". United States Senate. Retrieved February 3, 2024.