| Rayburn House Office Building | |
|---|---|
 View of Rayburn Office from United States Capitol dome (2007) | |
 Interactive map of Rayburn House Office Building | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | United States Capitol Complex,Washington, D.C., United States |
| Coordinates | 38°53′12.48″N77°0′37.8″W / 38.8868000°N 77.010500°W /38.8868000; -77.010500 |
| Opened | February 1965; 60 years ago (February 1965) |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Marble |
| Grounds | 2,395,914 square feet (222,587.7 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | H2L2 |
TheRayburn House Office Building (RHOB) is acongressional office building for theU.S. House of Representatives in theCapitol Hill neighborhood ofWashington, D.C., betweenSouth Capitol Street and First Street.
Rayburn is named after formerSpeaker of the HouseSam Rayburn. It was completed in 1965 and at 2.375 million square feet (220,644 m2) is the largest congressional office building.
Rayburn was completed in early 1965 and is home to the offices of 169 representatives.
Earlier efforts to provide space for the House of Representatives had included the construction of theCannon House Office Building and theLongworth House Office Building. In March 1955, House speaker Sam Rayburn introduced an amendment for a third House office building, although no site had been identified, no architectural study had been done, and no plans prepared.
The area west of the Longworth Building on squares 635 and 636 was chosen, with the main entrance onIndependence Avenue and garage and pedestrian entrances on South Capitol Street, C Street, and First Street Southwest. Thecornerstone was laid in May 1962, and full occupancy began in February 1965.
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TheArchitect of the Capitol,J. George Stewart, with the approval of theHouse Office Building Commission, selected the firm ofHarbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson ofPhiladelphia to design a stripped-down classical building in architectural harmony with otherCapitol Hill structures. However, while the interior design of the other House Office Buildings retains decor one would expect to see in House Office Buildings (with cherry wood paneling, brass railings, and marble floors), the Rayburn building possesses design style parallel to that of the 1960s, with chromepush bars, clocks, and elevators, and space-age fluorescent lighting fixtures.
TheCapitol Subway System, an underground transportation system, connects the building to theCapitol. Pedestrian tunnels also connect the Rayburn building to the Capitol and to theLongworth House Office Building. This system allows the Rayburn building to be connected to most of the Congressional office buildings onCapitol Hill via tunnel (theFord House Office Building is freestanding and attached to no other structures by tunnel).
For construction of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Congressional bill appropriated $2 million plus "such additional sums as may be necessary." Such additional sums eventually exceeded $99 million.[1] Congressional leaders inserted a gymnasium into the building plans, a fact that was not publicly known at the time of construction. The gym is below the sub-basement level, in a level of the underground parking garage, and according toThe Hill, a newspaper focused on Capitol Hill, "features dozens of cardio machines outfitted with TV screens, an array of Cybex weightlifting machines and free weights."[2]Also in the third floor basement is a shooting range run by the U.S. Capitol Police and a basketball court.[3]
On May 20, 2006Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents raided the Rayburn Building office of Democratic CongressmanWilliam J. Jefferson in connection to anongoing bribery investigation, marking the first time the FBI had raided the office of a sitting congressman.[4] The raid led to members of both parties questioning the constitutionality of the action,[5] and a subsequent hearing by theHouse Judiciary Committee.[6] The legality of the raid was challenged in court, where afederal appeals court ruled that the FBI had violated theSpeech or Debate clause of theUnited States Constitution by allowing the executive branch to review materials that were part of the legislative process.[7]
On May 26, 2006, at 10:30 am local time, there were reports of the sounds of gunfire in the garage of the building. The Capitol complex was sealed off, and staff in the building were told to stay in their offices after the building was put intolockdown by theUnited States Capitol Police. Some parts of the lockdown were removed, though other areas remained sealed.
CongressmanJim Saxton was reportedly the source of the false alarm, after he mistook construction sounds in the garage for gunfire.[8]
