Rayburn House Office Building

Rayburn House Office Building
View of Rayburn Office from United States Capitol dome.
Location within Washington, D.C.
General information
Status	Complete
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Location	United States Capitol Complex
Town or city	Washington, D.C.
Country	United States
Coordinates	38°53′12.48″N 77°0′37.8″W / 38.8868000°N 77.010500°W / 38.8868000; -77.010500Coordinates: 38°53′12.48″N 77°0′37.8″W / 38.8868000°N 77.010500°W / 38.8868000; -77.010500
Opened	February 1965
Technical details
Material	Marble
Grounds	2,395,914 square feet (222,587.7 m2)
Design and construction
Architecture firm	H2L2

The Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB) is a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., between South Capitol Street and First Street.

Rayburn is named after former Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. It was completed in 1965 and at 2.375 million square feet (220,644 m²) is the largest congressional office building and the newest House office building (the only newer congressional office building is the Hart Senate Office Building, completed in 1982).

Rayburn was completed in early 1965 and is home to the offices of 169 Representatives.

Earlier efforts to provide space for the House of Representatives had included the construction of the Cannon House Office Building and the Longworth House Office Building. In March 1955, House Speaker Sam Rayburn introduced an amendment for a third House office building, although no site had been identified, no architectural study had been done, and no plans prepared.

The area west of the Longworth Building on squares 635 and 636 was chosen, with the main entrance on Independence Avenue and garage and pedestrian entrances on South Capitol Street, C Street, and First Street Southwest. The cornerstone was laid in May 1962, and full occupancy began in February 1965.

The Architect of the Capitol, J. George Stewart, with the approval of the House Office Building Commission, selected the firm of Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson of Philadelphia to design a stripped-down classical building in architectural harmony with other Capitol Hill structures. However, while the interior design of the other House Office Buildings retains decor one would expect to see in House Office Buildings (with cherry wood paneling, brass railings, and marble floors), the Rayburn building possesses design style parallel to that of the 1960s, with chrome push bars, clocks, and elevators, and space-age fluorescent lighting fixtures.