Bush OKs Bill for Capitol's Emancipation Hall

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WITH THE LONG-DELAYED and over-budget Capitol Visitor Center now 98 percent complete, all that's left to do in the coming months is tie up loose ends at the giant underground complex that sits beneath the Capitol's East Lawn. And one big piece of unfinished business has just been taken care of: the naming of the visitor center's great hall, pictured above.

On Tuesday, President Bush signed legislation to call the space Emancipation Hall. As The Post's Michael E. Ruane reports:

The name echoes the Emancipation Proclamation of the Civil War, recognizes the work of slaves in building the Capitol and differentiates the hall from the great hall in the nearby Library of Congress, according to a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), who with Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) introduced a House version of the legislation.

The $621 million, 580,000 square-foot, three-level visitor center is supposed to be open to the public by the end of 2008. The complex was originally planned to be largely complete by Bush's second inauguration in January 2005.

» "'Emancipation Hall' Named" [WaPo]
» "Project Information: Capitol Visitor Center" [AOC]

» EARLIER: "Architect: CVC Construction 98% Complete" [Roll Call, subscription req'd]

Images courtesy Architect of the Capitol