United States Capitol Visitor Center

Washington, DC

The award-winning 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 4000 tourists and an expansion space for the United States Congress. The complex contains 580,000 square feet of space below ground on three floors: 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 Capitol and more than doubles the footprint of the Capitol building complex.

National Fire Protection was proud to be part of this historic venture and on the Architect of the Capitol’s team to assist with both the design and installation of the fire protection systems within the building. The systems installed included wet pipe sprinkler, dry pipe sprinkler, wet standpipe, risers, and fire pumps. The sprinklers and pipe work were located to compliment the structure and architectural details, such as the high end and unique finishes.

The CVC officially opened on December 2, 2008. This date was selected to coincide with the 145th anniversary of the placement of Thomas Crawford’s Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol dome in 1863, which signified the completion of the dome.