New Visitors Center (finally) Opening

Six years and $621 million dollars has been spent on the boondoggle known as the Capitol Visitors Center, and for the first time visitors will FINALLY be able to see the inside of this facility on Tuesday afternoon.

Capitol Tours have beena awkward for quite some time, in the 1790's the designers didn't really plan the grounds with thousands of daily visitors in mind. So, Congress decided it was time to build a visitors center that protected constituents from the elements while they were organized into tours. That was 15 years ago at a price tag of $71 million. Delay after delay occured, (tearing up the Capitol grounds is apparently a sensitive topic) and then 9/11 occurred. All of a sudden this project took on a new sense of urgency along with a new sense of scale. A shadow government center, office space, and new security measures for the center were to be added. Planned completion? Before the inauguration in January, 2005.

I've lived in DC for five and a half years, and in that time I've never seen the front of the Capitol when it was NOT behind a construction fence (granted, its been a few weeks since I walked by, that may be down now).

But hey, enough looking back, time to look forward. Apparently the new center is shiny and bright. Even better, there is now a new scheduling system for tours that replaces the old absurd way of getting to the grounds at 7am to try to get a timed slot later in the day. Thanks for embracing technology folks. To reserve your spot, visit: http://www.visitthecapitol.com