United States Capitol Visitor Center

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 history==

Dennis Hastert and former Architect of the Capitol Alan Hantman tour the CVC during the early stages of construction. 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." The first major construction contract, worth nearly $100 million, was awarded to Balfour Beatty (formerly Centex Construction), in the spring of 2002. This contract involved site demolition, slurry wall construction, excavation, construction of columns, installation of site utilities, construction of the concrete and structural steel, waterproofing, and construction of a new service tunnel. By July 2005, Balfour Beatty Construction completed all excavation and structural activities, and the roof deck covered the entire CVC structure. Manhattan Construction Company was responsible for the build-out including, installation of electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems, coordination with existing Capitol building systems where the center connects within the Capitol building, and completion of the above-ground East Front Plaza, with related site work and security elements. ==Operations and features==

The space is mainly designed for use as a holding zone for visitors waiting to take tours of the Capitol. The number of annual visitors to the Capitol has tripled from 1,000,000 in 1970 to nearly 3,000,000 as of recent times, and it has become difficult to deal with the congestion caused by such crowds. 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 by 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. Exhibition Hall The Exhibition Hall includes an high tactile polyurethane model of the Capitol dome. The hall is dominated by a pair of curving 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. Congressional space 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. ==Criticism==

Costs 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. ==See also==