Image at Left: Workers prepare the Cannon House Office Building's Foundation (Click image to enlarge)

You are cordially invited to a 100th birthday party!  The "guest of honor" is the Cannon House Office Building.  It was a century ago that the Cannon Building was completed as the first Congressional Office Building on the Capitol campus. On July 9 and 10, 2008, the Architect of the Capitol and Congress will be celebrating this milestone by hosting an historic exhibit and offering an "insiders tour" of the Cannon House Office Building.

The exhibit, featuring original 1908 furniture, photos, and displays, will be open to Members and staff from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Caucus Room, 345 Cannon.  Tours led by AOC Historic Preservation Officer William Allen will be offered twice each day at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. These tours will originate in the Cannon Caucus Room and will highlight the Cannon Rotunda, which features 18 Corinthian columns that support an entablature and coffered dome, plus other unique rooms.  No reservations are necessary. 

Members of the public can get a sneak peak at this exhibit online via our links to the left of the page.  We also have historic photo slide shows below that illustrate the construction of the Cannon House Office Building.

The Cannon House Office Building was constructed to relieve overcrowding in the Capitol.  At the time, Members who wanted office space had to rent quarters or borrow space in committee rooms.  In March 1901, Congress authorized Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark to draw plans for office buildings adjacent to the Capitol grounds.  Originally there were 397 offices and 14 committee rooms in the Cannon Building; the 1932 remodeling resulted in 85 two- or three-room suites, 10 single rooms, and 23 committee rooms.  The Cannon Building was occupied during the 60th Congress in January 1908.  By 1913, however, the House had outgrown the available office space, and fifty-one rooms were added to the original structure by raising the roof and constructing a fifth floor.  In 1962, the building was named for former Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon.

Join us in celebrating this historic occasion online by using the navigation links to the left.