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The Capitol Visitor Center welcomes visitors from across the United States and around the world. All tours, programs and activities are free of charge. Visitors enter the Capitol Visitor Center, which is located underground on the east side of the Capitol.
The history of the United States Capitol Building begins in 1793. Since then, the U.S. Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended and restored. The U.S. Capitol that we see in Washington, D.C., today is the result of several major periods of construction. View the timeline and learn more.
The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., is a symbol of the American people and our government and the meeting place of the nation's legislature, the U.S. Congress. The Capitol is a working office building, but it is also the place where visitors from around the United States and the world come to learn about American democracy.
The United States Capitol is a monument, a working office building, and one of the most recognizable symbols of representative democracy in the world. Visitors are welcome to enter the building through the Capitol Visitor Center, located underground on the east side of the Capitol.
The U.S. Capitol's design was selected by President George Washington in 1793 and construction began shortly thereafter. The U.S. Capitol is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. It has housed the meeting chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives for over two centuries.
The most recognized symbol of democratic government in the world, the United States Capitol has housed Congress since 1800. The Capitol is where Congress meets to write the laws of our nation, and where presidents are inaugurated and deliver their annual State of the Union messages.
United States Capitol, Meeting place of the U.S. Congress. In 1792 a competition for its design was won by William Thornton (1759–1828); his revised Federal-style design of 1795 was executed as the exterior of the wings adjacent to the central rotunda.
