CVC set to open Dec. 2

The long awaited Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) finally has a birthday, albeit a day it will have to share, top lawmakers announced Thursday.

The $621 million CVC is set to open Dec. 2, the same day the Statue of Freedom was placed atop the Capitol building 145 years ago, according to a statement from Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate.

{mosads}They said it was no accident that the December opening date was chosen.

“The connection between the Capitol building and the new Capitol Visitor Center is natural and powerful,” said Stephen T. Ayers, acting-Architect of the Capitol, in a statement.

The CVC, which is over-budget and behind schedule, is nearing completion according to officials from the CVC and the AOC, who testified earlier this week at an oversight hearing.

The center’s initial opening date was set for the end of 2005, but it has been continually pushed back due to construction and financial woes.

Officials still have some kinks to iron out, including how to ensure tourist buses will reach the CVC. But they said they are in the last stages of testing the fire alarm system and are moving toward completing the project.

The CVC will host several committee rooms, a cafeteria, a gift shop, two movie theaters, and rare documents on display from the National Archives and the Library of Congress.

“The Visitor Center will be a place of civic engagement that will enhance the visitor’s experience at the Capitol building,” said Terri Rouse, CEO of visitor services for the CVC, in a statement. “Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the Capitol and see the legislative branch in action.”

The mold for the Statue of Freedom is also being dismantled and moved from the Russell Senate Office Building to the CVC for visitors.