Last updated: April 30, 2025
Place
House of Representatives in Congress Hall
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Congress Hall
Significance:
The House of Representatives met in this room for 10 years
What you see today is close to what the rooms would have looked like in the 1790s. The three semi-circular rows of dark tables and dark chairs served as the working area for the members of the House. Prior to the first census in 1790, 65 members of the House served here. The house grew to 107 members by 1800 after a completed census and the addition of three new states (Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee).
Seated on the dais was the Speaker of the House, with two clerks in front. Throughout the room you find several fireplaces, some engravings depicting battles of the American Revolution, and a bust of Benjamin Franklin above the door. Congress felt his influence on their work deeply, even though Franklin died before Congress moved into this building. A bust of him overlooked the house floor, perhaps a hope for his continued guidance, or maybe a constant reminder of the decades of work it took to get to be the United States.
The building returned to use as a courthouse after Congress left in 1800. Once it became part of the National Park Service, historians and architects used primary sources like purchasing records, descriptions, and bills of sale to furnish the spaces with reproduction and period furniture.
Seated on the dais was the Speaker of the House, with two clerks in front. Throughout the room you find several fireplaces, some engravings depicting battles of the American Revolution, and a bust of Benjamin Franklin above the door. Congress felt his influence on their work deeply, even though Franklin died before Congress moved into this building. A bust of him overlooked the house floor, perhaps a hope for his continued guidance, or maybe a constant reminder of the decades of work it took to get to be the United States.
The building returned to use as a courthouse after Congress left in 1800. Once it became part of the National Park Service, historians and architects used primary sources like purchasing records, descriptions, and bills of sale to furnish the spaces with reproduction and period furniture.