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With the rapid expansion of the federal government during the Roosevelt administration, the Senate needed a new building to house its ever-expanding number of committees. New York architects Otto R. Eggers and Daniel Paul Higgins were hired to design this marble Art Deco building.
Although first proposed during the Roosevelt years, the Dirksen wasn’t completed until 1958. The building was originally intended to have another wing. Budget constraints didn’t allow for this wing to be built. Twenty-four years later, the missing wing was built as the adjoining Hart Senate Office Building.
Inside the building, in addition to space for Senate committees, is a 500-seat auditorium, a cafeteria and a parking garage. The cafeteria, with its $11.50 buffet, is said to be the best place to eat on Capitol Hill. You can eat lunch anytime when the Senate isn’t in session. If the Senate is in session, the cafeteria doesn’t open to the public until after 1pm. After all, who would want to disturb a Senator’s lunch? The building is connected to the Capitol via a subway going through the Russell Senate Office Building. Everett McKinley Dirksen, for whom the building is named, was once a minority leader of the Senate.
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The exterior of the building is stream-lined Art Deco, with a minimum amount of detailing. The most ornate features are the shiny metal doors, designed by Eggers and modeled by the Rochette and Parzini Corp. Other detailing includes reliefs of American eagles, figures representing Equality and Liberty, and panels representing shipping, farming, manufacturing, mining and lumbering. |