December 22, 1825

On this date, the Library of Congress, then located in a room on the west side of the Capitol, caught on fire. Late in the evening Representative Edward Everett of Massachusetts noticed a suspicious light in the window near the library as he departed a Capitol Hill dinner party. Everett informed a Capitol Police officer who did not have a key to the library door and dismissed Everett’s concern.The Congressman returned to his nearby home. Other officers, however, saw the glow increase in intensity and summoned the Librarian of Congress, George Watterson, to the Capitol. Watterson and the police discovered a fire on the upper level of the library. Representatives Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Sam Houston of Tennessee arrived at the Capitol along with Everett to assist in fighting the growing blaze. Firefighters arrived and extinguished the blaze before it spread to the ceiling and other sections of the Capitol. After the smoke settled, firefighters determined the cause of the fire was an unattended candle. Damage was not as extensive as the August 1814 inferno, when the British destroyed the Capitol (and most of official Washington, D.C.). Listed among those items lost in the fire were duplicate copies of books and an expensive rug. This was the second blaze in roughly a decade and it prompted Congress to request Architect of the Capitol Charles Bulfinch to investigate flame retardant materials for the library and the Capitol as a whole.

December 24, 1913

On this date, thousands of people flocked to the U.S. Capitol to celebrate Washington’s first “community Christmas.” The centerpiece of the festivities, a 40-foot Norway spruce Christmas tree located on the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol, was adorned with red, white, and blue electric bulbs. The celebration boasted a lighted placard with the inscription, “Peace on earth, good will to men,” nativity scenes, and a large chorus which sang Christmas hymns. During the Christmas Eve celebration, the Marine Band played the national anthem, and in keeping with the spirit of community cooperation, Boy Scout troops assisted the Capitol Police with crowd control. The popular holiday tradition resumed in 1914, but abruptly ended the following year due to a lack of funds. “Shock Awaits Santa Claus: No Community Christmas Tree Will Be at the Capitol for Him,” a Washington Post headline declared. Nearly 50 years later in 1962, Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts oversaw the placement of a Christmas tree in Statuary Hall. It is “most appropriate that a Christmas tree be placed in the Capitol, which is the heart of legislative activity of our country,” McCormack declared. A year later the Speaker spearheaded the revival of an official Capitol Christmas Tree when he suggested that the Architect of the Capitol plant a tree on the West Front lawn. On December 19, 1964, President pro tem of the Senate, Carl Hayden of Arizona, lit the 24-foot Douglas-fir “congressional” tree decorated with white lights and topped with a star. Since 1970, the U.S. Forest Service and the Architect’s office have selected the Capitol Christmas Tree cut from various national forests in the United States. As time passed, an annual ceremony has emerged in which the Speaker of the House lights the Capitol Tree.

December 27, 1926

On this date, Benjamin C. West, the longtime Superintendent of the House Press Gallery was born. Born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, West grew up and attended school in Washington, D.C. At the age of 15, he worked briefly as an electrician’s assistant and as an elevator operator at the Capitol, before finding employment in the House Press Gallery in 1942. West began his 44-year career in the press gallery as a messenger during the speakership of Sam Rayburn of Texas. He worked his way up to Superintendent of the press gallery in 1969—a position he retained until his retirement in 1986 during the 99th Congress. During his tenure as Superintendent, West oversaw the modernization of the gallery and implemented a detailed reference system to facilitate the reporting of Congress. As an eyewitness to historical events such as the 1954 shooting in the House Chamber and the 1974 Nixon impeachment hearings, West relied on his experience and instincts to develop methods to serve Congress and the press. “I think the press gallery and its occupants are an eyewitness to history,” the former Superintendent once said. “And those in the chamber, walking the House Floor, they are the authors of history. They are the creators of history. I think the two combine for an invaluable asset for the legislative branch.” Throughout his more than four decades as a House employee, West expressed his enduring respect for the institution. “It holds the same awe and majesty that I felt my very first day on the job. I get that same feeling of excitement every time I look up at the lighted dome when I leave work at night.”