United States Capitol Visitor Center

Underground visitor's center in Washington D. C.

The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is a large underground addition to the United States Capitol complex which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the U. S. Congress. It is located below the East Front of the Capitol and its plaza, between the Capitol building and 1st Street East. The complex contains of space below ground on three floors. The overall project's budget was $621 million. The CVC has space for use by the Congress, including multiple new meeting and conference rooms. On the House side, there is a large room which will most likely be used by a committee. The new Congressional Auditorium, a 450 seat theater, is available for use by members of Congress or for either House of Congress should their respective chamber be unavailable. The CVC officially opened on December 2, 2008. This date was selected to coincide with the 145th anniversary of placing Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol building in 1863, signifying the completion of construction of its dome.

The CVC contains three underground levels: a balcony level entrance, the Emancipation Hall (second) level and a third restricted level for new congressional offices and meeting rooms. The construction of the CVC represents the largest ever expansion of the United States Capitol and more than doubles the footprint of the U. S. Capitol building complex. The American Institute of Architects presented RTKL Associates Inc. with the Award of Excellence in Historic Resources for their work on the U. S. Capitol Visitor Center. The award was presented at the Architecture Week Closing Party & Design Awards Gala on September 30, 2010, in Washington, D. C.

Construction of the CVC was supervised by the Architect of the Capitol. That post was held by Alan Hantman, FAIA until his term expired on February 4, 2007; construction was then continued by then Acting Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers, AIA, LEED AP. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the CVC took place on June 20, 2000. The proposed cost was originally $71 million, but it has risen to $621 million. The CVC has caused controversy for being over budget and behind schedule. Much of this is blamed on the rising cost of fuel, post 9/11 security measures, and inclement weather. At a hearing on the CVC cost overruns Representative Jack Kingston called it "a monument to government inefficiency, ineptitude and excessiveness." Visiting the CVC and the Capitol are free. Tickets for Capitol tours are also free and are available online for order ahead of time. It was originally designated the Great Hall, but this was changed to Emancipation Hall when a bill cosponsored by Congressman Zach Wamp and Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. was passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in January 2008. Emancipation Hall contains two large skylights, which each measure 30 feet (9 m) by 70 feet (21 m) and allow for a view of the Capitol dome never before seen. The Hall also displays 24 statues of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The complete collection is made up of two statues from each state. The statues are donated by their respective state to honor notable residents. In the past years, all 100 statues have been housed in the Capitol, many in Statuary Hall. This has led to overcrowding of statues and relocating some of them to Emancipation Hall has allowed for some space to be reclaimed. According to the Acting Architect of the Capitol Steven T. Ayers, more recently added statues have been given preference for a move to Emancipation Hall.

The Exhibition Hall includes an 11 feet (3 m) high tactile polyurethane model of the Capitol dome. The hall is dominated by a pair of curving 93 feet (28 m) marble walls lined with artifacts and interactive touch screen displays. Included in the collection are documents signed by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Six scale models of the complete Capitol illustrate how the building expanded over time. These replace the single gift shop previously located in the Capitol Crypt. The CVC includes a 530 seat food court, which is expected to alleviate overcrowding in the cafeterias in the Congressional office buildings.

About has been reserved for use by Congress. Much of the space is for a new Congressional Auditorium. Most of the rest of the space will be made into committee meeting rooms. A second tunnel was constructed to connect the CVC to the Library of Congress. Part of East Capitol Street was closed during construction and the tunnel was completed in the winter of 2005.

The high cost of building the Capitol Visitor Center has been an ongoing source of controversy for the project. Time magazine projected the total cost to be nearly $600 million. Critics cited its three auditoriums, the largest cafeteria in Washington, and a tunnel that links the Capitol Visitor Center to the Library of Congress as a symbol of federal and Congressional overspending. Some of these controversies were briefly addressed by Beth Plemmons, Chief Executive Officer for Visitor Services at the Capitol Visitor Center, during her testimony on May 16, 2018, at a hearing before the Committee on House Administration, U. S. House of Representatives.