![]() ![]() By 1949, senators were once again renting office space to accommodate the expansion of their staffs, and by 1954, the number of Senate staff had doubled from what it had been when the Senate Office Building opened 45 years earlier. However, even this addition could not solve the Senate’s space problem for good. Wyeth, whose many designs in DC include the expansion of the West Wing of the White House, designed the addition in partnership with Francis P. Carrère’s original design had had only three sides, arranged in a U shape around a central courtyard to increase the amount of office space, a new wing was added in 1933 on the originally open First Street side. Within 20 years, the Senate had outgrown the building. This statement was quickly proved wrong, however, as senators continued to hire more and more new staff to accommodate their states’ increasing populations. The New York Times commented deprecatingly on the building’s massive size at the time of its completion: "When in the course of human events it became necessary for these ninety-two business gentlemen to have business offices, they erected a building that a thousand men would feel lonesome in." Each of 92 senators from the 46 states had an office for himself and one for his staff, in addition to the building’s cafeterias, gymnasium, and other common spaces. ![]() Most importantly, compared to the cramped Capitol, the Senate Office Building was spacious. An underground passageway connected the building to the Capitol, allowing senators to travel the ⅕-mile distance multiple times per day by bus and, after 1912, by monorail. At the time, “modern” meant that the building featured forced-air ventilation and steam heat, electricity, elevators, telephones, and telegraph and post offices. Senators enjoyed all the amenities of a modern office building in their new home. To avoid making the Senate Office Building taller than the Capitol, for instance, Carrère designed it to be only three stories tall on its Constitution Avenue side, although it rises five stories above the ground on the C Street side due to the steeply-sloped streets of Capitol Hill. Ensuring that the buildings would not be in competition with the Capitol was a major influence on their design. Unlike the ornately decorated Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, another Beaux-Arts building in DC that had been finished a decade earlier, the House and Senate Office Buildings were designed more simply so as not to distract from the Capitol building they flanked. ![]() Some senators, however, had begun occupying the building before it was finished, ignoring the sawdust and commotion to seize the open space as it became available.Ĭarrère and Hastings had both trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and they built the House and Senate Office Buildings in line with the French neoclassical sensibilities that informed the Beaux-Arts style. Taft’s inauguration and just in time for the Senate of the 61st Congress to move in. The building officially opened on March 5, 1909, the day after President William H. The cornerstone for the Senate Office Building was laid on July 31, 1906, and construction lasted under three years. Elliott Woods, the Architect of the Capitol from 1902 to 1923, served as the planner and overseer for both projects. John Carrère took the lead on the Senate Office Building, while Thomas Hastings led work on the House Office Building. Townsend House (now known as the Cosmos Club) in DC. Known for designing the Main Branch of the New York Public Library, the firm had previously designed the Richard H. In 1904, Congress retained the services of the prominent New York architectural firm Carrère and Hastings for the construction of the two new buildings. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Congress began working towards the construction of separate office buildings for the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators worked at their desks in the Senate chamber, which offered little quiet or privacy, and many opted to rent or borrow office space elsewhere. Capitol.Īs new states joined the Union and Congressmen added new staff to serve their growing constituencies, the Capitol was becoming overcrowded. TextĪlong with its counterpart, the Cannon House Office Building, the Russell Senate Office Building was one of the first office buildings constructed to house Congress outside of the U.S. ![]() Senate Office Building (Russell Senate Office Building) Built to relieve the overcrowded Capitol without distracting from its beauty, the Russell Senate Office Building remains a dignified exemplar of Beaux-Arts architecture. ![]()
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