Cannon House Office Building
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The Cannon House Office Building, often called the "Old House Office Building", completed in 1908, is the oldest office building of the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
in Washington, D.C. A significant example of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture, it occupies a site south of the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
bounded by Independence Avenue, First Street, New Jersey Avenue, and C Street S.E. In 1962 the building was named for former
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...
Joseph Gurney Cannon Joseph Gurney Cannon (May 7, 1836 – November 12, 1926) was an American politician from Illinois and a leader of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Cannon represented parts of Illinois in the United States House of Rep ...
.


History

The first congressional office buildings were constructed immediately after the turn of the 20th century to relieve overcrowding in the interior of the then century-old
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
. Previously, members who wanted office space had to rent quarters or borrow space in committee rooms. In March 1901, Congress authorized
Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol is the Federal government of the United States, federal Government agency, agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of t ...
Edward Clark (1822–1902, served 1865–1902), to draw plans for fireproof office buildings for both the House and Senate adjacent north and south to the Capitol grounds. By two years later, in March 1903, the acquisition of land for sites, razing of the private residences and businesses and construction of the buildings were authorized. In April 1904, the prominent New York City architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings was retained. Thomas Hastings (1860–1929), took charge of the southside House Office Building project, while John Carrère (1858–1911), oversaw the construction of an almost identical office building (now named the Russell Senate Office Building) for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
to the north. Their Beaux Arts /
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
styles of architecture designs were restrained complementary to the original Capitol of 1792–1863. The Cannon Building was occupied during the session of the 60th U.S. Congress in December 1907. By less than a decade later in 1913, however, the House had already outgrown the available office space, and fifty-one rooms were added to the original structure by raising the roof and constructing a fifth floor (not visible in its exterior view).Technically in Classical architecture, an
attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
.
that is visible only from the enclosed court and otherwise obscured on the building's exterior public face. Originally there were 397 offices and fourteen committee rooms in the Cannon Building; the subsequent second 1932 remodeling project resulted in 85 two- or three-room suites, 10 single rooms, and 23 committee rooms. During the late 1960s, the House Beauty Shop, a salon which catered to Congresspersons, their spouses, and employees, was relocated to the Cannon House Office Building from the adjacent smaller and newer Longworth House Office Building of 1930–1933, under the auspices of the House of Representatives Beauty Shop Committee.


2015 renovations

In January 2015, a top-to-bottom renovation of the Cannon House Office Building began. Completion is expected to take ten years and cost $752.7 million dollars. Initially, this renovation project will be focused on upgrading the building infrastructure and utilities, but will progress on to a wing-by-wing exterior and interior reconstruction. According to Bill Weidemeyer (Superintendent of the House), the building "is plagued by safety, health, environmental and operational issues that are rapidly worsening. Many of the building’s systems are original from the 1908 construction."


Architecture

Architecturally, the elevations are divided into a rusticated base and a
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
with an
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
and balustrade. The colonnades with thirty-four
Doric columns The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...
that face the Capitol are echoed by
pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
on the sides of the building, and very inspired by the Louvre Colonnade in Paris. The Cannon Building is faced with marble and limestone; while the Senate's Russell Building's base and terrace are gray granite. Modern for its time, the building initially included such facilities as forced-air ventilation systems, steam heat, individual lavatories with hot and cold running water and ice water, telephones, and electricity. Both the Cannon Building and the Russell Building are connected to the Capitol by underground passages. Of special architectural interest is the rotunda. Eighteen
Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...
support an entablature and a
coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...
ed
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
, whose glazed oculus floods the rotunda with natural light. Twin marble staircases lead from the rotunda to an imposing Caucus Room, which features Corinthian pilasters, a full entablature, and a richly detailed ceiling.


Cannon Tunnel

The north-south Cannon Tunnel connects the Cannon House Office Building to the Capitol. The tunnel is lined with artwork from the annual Congressional Art Competition for high school students. Branching off the entrance to the Cannon Tunnel is a separate tunnel southwest to the adjacent Longworth House Office Building, and entrances to a cafeteria, shoe shiner/cobbler, and a Legislative Resource Center. Unlike the tunnels from the Capitol to the Senate Office Buildings on the northside and the Rayburn Tunnel, the Cannon Tunnel because of its age, has no subway line, and is primarily a pedestrian pathway. In addition, a separate tunnel runs between the Cannon building and to the east of the neighboring
James Madison Memorial Building The James Madison Memorial Building is one of three United States Capitol Complex buildings that house the Library of Congress. The building was constructed from 1971 to 1976, and serves as the official memorial to United States Founding Father a ...
, a part of the adjacent
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
buildings complex.


Gallery

File:Cannon Tunnel Construction.png, Construction of Cannon Tunnel, north-south from Capitol to Cannon Building, File:CannonHouseOfficeBuildingRotunda.jpg, Cannon Building rotunda File:CannonOfficeBuildingDomeView.jpg, Aerial view looking southeast of Cannon House of Representatives Office Building from Capitol dome File:Aerial View of the Cannon House Office Building - November 6, 2015 (23293141849).jpg, Aerial view looking west (Capitol at right / north, out of view) of the Cannon House Office Building in 2015 while undergoing latest renovation (scaffold crane in center courtyard). Longworth House Office Building adjacent and further west at top of photo. Rayburn House Office Building barely seen at photo top to the far west.


Notes


References


External links


Cannon Renewal Project FAQs, Architect of the Capitol

Ghosts of DC blog: Three Bits of Trivia About the Cannon House Office Building
{{Authority control 1908 establishments in Washington, D.C. Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C. Carrère and Hastings buildings Congressional office buildings Government buildings completed in 1908 Independence Avenue (Washington, D.C.)