James Norton: “H.R. 3315 is a bill to designate the great hall located in the Capitol Visitor Center as 'Emancipation Hall.' As we all…”

“H.R. 3315 is a bill to designate the great hall located in the Capitol Visitor Center as 'Emancipation Hall.' As we all know, the new Capitol Visitor Center is the most recent and largest addition to the United States Capitol in its 212-year history. The great hall will include information and ticketing desks and provide an area where Americans from across the country and where people from all over the world can gather to take in scenic views of the Capitol or prepare to tour the 580,000 square foot Visitor Center. The great hall will also serve as a central gathering space in the Capitol Visitor Center. It encompasses 20,000 square feet and its dimensions are 100 feet by 200 feet, with a ceiling height of 35 feet. It is indeed a majestic addition to the Capitol. There will be statues from Statuary Hall on display throughout the great hall, if I may so, hopefully, finally, statues from the Capitol of the United States; the District of Columbia. The plaster model of the Statue of Freedom from the Senate Russell building will be featured in the cellar rotunda. The wall and column stone in the great hall is sandstone from Pennsylvania. The floor stone is marble from Tennessee and dolomite from Wisconsin. The black granite in the water features of the great hall comes from California. It is remarkable and impressive as a public space befitting this Capitol.”