The Capitol Campus

Presiding magnificently over an expanding and robust nation, the Capitol itself changed little during this period. The grounds, however, were a different story. They blossomed in the 1870s and 1880s from a disheveled construction site into a picturesque garden. Perhaps the most noticeable change was a marble terrace that replaced the earthen embankments along the west front.

At the century’s end, the Library of Congress moved from the Capitol to a new building nearby. Shortly thereafter, Congress built additional office buildings for the House and Senate. These structures freed up space inside the building and ushered in a new era of a Capitol "campus."