Capitol Visitor Center logs 1 million visits

The one-millionth person visited the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) on Thursday according to CVC officials.

The CVC, which opened in December of last year, has brought about a 114 percent increase in visitor to the Capitol – during the first five months of last year, the Capitol saw less than 500,000 visitors.

“Since we opened on December 2, we’ve worked hard to provide a welcoming entryway to the U.S. Capitol for the many visitors from around the world who come to see the legislative branch of our government at work,” said Terrie S. Rouse, CEO for Visitor Services, in a statement.

“We hope that these visitors have left the Capitol feeling more informed about Congress and the history of the Capitol and more involved in their government.”

The CVC’s busiest day was on April 20 when 19,500 people traipsed through the $621 million center’s doors according to officals.

If the Capitol had been faced with nearly 20,000 visitors in a single day last year, prior to the CVC’s opening, people would have had to wait for four hours to get inside, according to the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms.

CVC officials, while expecting “this robust pace of visitation will continue,” touted that the average wait for visitors to enter the CVC has been 6 to 10 minutes.

–Jordy Yager