United States Senate chamber

The U.S. Senate chamber
Class photo of the 111th United States Senate inside the chamber, 2010.

The United States Senate Chamber is a room in the north wing of the United States Capitol that has served as the legislative chamber of the United States Senate, since January 4, 1859.[1] The Senate first convened in its current meeting place after utilizing Federal Hall, Congress Hall, and the Old Senate Chamber in the Capitol building for the same purpose.[1]

The chamber, designed by then-Architect of the Capitol Thomas Ustick Walter, is a rectangular two-story room with 100 individual desks, one per Senator, on a multi-tiered semicircular platform facing a central rostrum in the front of the room. The Senate floor itself is overlooked on all four sides by a gallery on the second floor. The Senate floor itself is 80 by 113 feet (24 by 34 m).[2]

  1. ^ a b "The Senate Chamber 1859-2009". United States Senate. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference aoc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).