From its inception, the Capitol Visitor Center was conceived as an extension of the Capitol. The materials used to construct the Visitor Center were selected to match the colors, textures, and materials seen throughout the historic building.
This care is evident in Emancipation Hall, named to recognize the contributions of the enslaved laborers who helped build the U.S. Capitol, the central gathering place for visitors coming to see the Capitol.
Rising 36 feet above the floor, the walls and columns of Emancipation Hall are lined with sandstone slabs marked by a variety of color and texture similar to the sandstone seen in the Capitol.
At the entrance to the Exhibition Hall, visitors can see two round columns with a decorative leaf detail at the top of each column that matches the design of the 40 Doric columns in the Crypt of the Capitol.
There are two Orientation Theaters in the Capitol Visitor Center where visitors will start their tours of the Capitol by watching a 13-minute orientation film that introduces them to the Capitol and illustrates how government was initially established in the United States. There are also two small theaters in the Exhibition Hall where visitors may watch the proceedings in the House and the Senate chambers.
The Exhibition Hall, where visitors may explore the only exhibition in the world dedicated to telling the story of Congress and the U.S. Capitol, is 16,500 square feet. Highlights include rarely seen historic documents from the National Archives and the Library of Congress, artifacts from around the country, and an 11-foot-tall touchable model of the Capitol dome.
There is a 530-seat restaurant in the Capitol Visitor Center serving soups, salads, entrees and a variety of other items. This compares with no public eating spaces in the Capitol prior to the opening of the Visitor Center. There are also two Gift Shops in the Visitor Center.