National Archives building - wikipedia National Archives building For the museum in Indonesia, see National Archives Building, Jakarta. National Archives Building U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic district Contributing property The National Archives building Constitution Avenue façade Location Constitution Avenue between 7th Street and 9th Street, NW Nearest city Washington, D.C. Coordinates 38 ° 53 ′ 34 '' N 77 ° 01 ′ 23 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.89278 ° N 77.02306 ° W ﻿ / 38.89278 ; - 77.02306 Coordinates : 38 ° 53 ′ 34 '' N 77 ° 01 ′ 23 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.89278 ° N 77.02306 ° W ﻿ / 38.89278 ; - 77.02306 Built 1933 -- 1935 Architect John Russell Pope Architectural style Classical Revival Part of Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site ( # 66000865 ) NRHP reference # 71001004 Added to NRHP May 27, 1971 The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the original headquarters of the National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C.. The Rotunda entrance is on Constitution Avenue, while the research entrance is on Pennsylvania Avenue. A second larger facility, known as `` Archives II '' ( or simply as `` A2 '' ), is located in College Park, Maryland. Contents 1 Exhibits 2 History 2.1 Before the National Archives Building 2.2 Planning stages 2.3 Breaking ground 2.4 Construction 2.5 Completion 2.6 Reencasement and renovation 2.7 Timeline 3 Warren Commission 4 Gallery 5 References 6 External links Exhibits Archives of the United States of America Close up of the National Archives Building facade It holds the original copies of the three main formative documents of the United States and its government : the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It also hosts an original version of the 1297 Magna Carta confirmed by Edward I. These are displayed to the public in the main chamber of the National Archives, which is called the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. The National Archives Building also exhibits other important American historical documents such as the Articles of Confederation, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, the Emancipation Proclamation, and collections of photography and other historically and culturally significant American artifacts. Once inside the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, there are no lines to see the individual documents and visitors are allowed to walk from document to document as they wish. Photography is not permitted in the National Archives Museum. Photography with natural light is permitted in research rooms. History Before the National Archives building From its founding, the U.S. federal government has documented its policies and decisions, but for almost 150 years it had virtually no method or place to safeguard historically important records. During those years, officials occasionally decried federal neglect, or too often, fires destroyed important documents, reinforcing the need for an archives. By the end of the 19th century, a few architects had even submitted plans to the government for an archives or a hall of records. By the early 20th century an organized effort aimed at creating the National Archives began, but not until 1926 did Congress finally approve the National Archives Building. Planning stages That year, Congress authorized construction of the National Archives Building as part of a massive public buildings program designed to beautify the center of Washington, DC, and provide office space for the growing federal bureaucracy. This program led to the design and construction of buildings within the Federal Triangle. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon gave the responsibility for designing the Triangle grouping to a Board of Architectural Consultants. Louis A. Simon, the Supervisory Architect of the Treasury Department, drafted a preliminary design for the Archives, placing it along Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets, NW. In late 1927, preliminary drawings of the individual Triangle buildings were incorporated into a formal presentation of the entire project. The drawings became the basis for a three - dimensional scale model that was publicly unveiled in April 1929. The next month, after examining the model, the Commission of Fine Arts was highly critical of Simon 's design for an archives. Commissioners suggested that the noted architect John Russell Pope be added to the Board of Architectural Consultants and that he design the National Archives. Pope was asked to join when the death of a board member created a vacancy. Pope 's architectural vision transformed both the location and design of the National Archives Building. He successfully proposed relocating the Archives to the block between Seventh and Eighth Streets, a site he believed demanded a monumental building such as the National Archives. In place of Simon 's design, Pope 's National Archives was to be a neoclassical temple befitting an institution dedicated to American history. Breaking ground Ground was broken for the National Archives on September 5, 1931, by the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Ferry K. Heath. By the time President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the building in February 1933, significant problems had arisen. Because the massive structure was to be constructed above an underground stream, 8,575 piles had been driven into the unstable soil, before pouring a huge concrete bowl as a foundation. Another difficulty arose over the choice of building materials. Both limestone and granite were authorized as acceptable, but construction began during the darkest days of the Great Depression, and suppliers of each material lobbied fiercely to have the government use their stone. Ultimately, as in the other Federal Triangle buildings, limestone was used for the exterior superstructure and granite for the base. Construction Constructing the National Archives was a mammoth task. Not only was the building the most ornate structure on the Federal Triangle, but it also called for installation of specialized air - handling systems and filters, reinforced flooring, and thousands of feet of shelving to meet the building 's archival storage requirements. The building 's exterior took more than 4 years to finish and required a host of workers ranging from sculptors and model makers to air - conditioning contractors and structural - steel workers. Completion Guardiaship, a 1935 sculpture by James Earle Fraser, exhibited outside the NARA In November 1935, 120 National Archives staff members moved into their uncompleted building. Most of the exterior work was complete, but many stack areas, where records would be stored, had no shelving for incoming records. Work also continued on the Rotunda and other public spaces. More significantly, earlier estimates about the need for future stack space proved to be quite insufficient. Almost as soon as Pope 's original design was complete, a project to fill the Archives ' interior courtyard began, doubling storage space from 374,000 square feet to more than 757,000 square feet. John Russell Pope 's vision of the Archives as a temple of history has been preserved through maintenance and periodic restoration work on the building since the mid-1930s. Over the years, however, more records filled the building and even the courtyard expansion proved to be inadequate. By the late 1960s, the building reached its storage capacity of 900,000 cubic feet and the agency began renting large amounts of storage and administrative space. The 1993 completion of a second National Archives building in College Park, Maryland, added 1.8 million square feet to the National Archives, providing the nation with the most modern archives facility in the world. Reencasement and renovation The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights have been displayed to the public in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building since 1952. That year National Bureau of Standards placed the documents into hermetically sealed encasements filled with inert helium gas, which the Bureau believed would preserve the Charters well into the next century. Since the 1952 installation, National Archives conservators have conducted regular visual inspections of the encased documents. Since 1987, these inspections have been greatly enhanced through the use of an electronic imaging monitoring system developed for NARA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. In an electronic inspection of the documents in 1995, conservators noticed changes in the glass encasements of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Glass experts from Libby - Owens - Ford ( the original manufacturer of the encasement glass ) and the Corning Glass Museum determined that the case glass components were showing signs of deterioration. Both the glass experts and the National Archives Advisory Committee on Preservation recommended that the Charters be reencased within seven years ( by 2002 ) to ensure the continued safety and preservation of the documents. In July 2001, the Charters were taken off display in the Rotunda to be removed from their deteriorating cases. National Archives conservators removed the documents from their cases and analyzed their condition. Appropriate conservation measures were taken on each document and they have been installed in the new encasements, returning to public display in September 2003. Timeline Congress authorized construction in 1926. Ground was broken on September 5, 1931. President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone in February 1933. First opened in 1935. Completed in 1937. A renovation was completed in late 2004. Public display space expanded from 12,000 to more than 19,000 square feet in 2013. Warren Commission Investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Warren Commission met formally for the first time on December 5, 1963 in a hearing room on the second floor of the National Archives Building. Gallery National Archives Building at night National Archives Building, June 2016 References Jump up ^ National Park Service ( 2009 - 03 - 13 ). `` National Register Information System ''. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Jump up ^ National Park Service ( 2008 - 04 - 15 ). `` National Register Information System ''. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Jump up ^ The National Archives in Washington, DC Jump up ^ `` Magna Carta ''. Archivesfoundation.org. Retrieved 2015 - 09 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Visit the National Archives Museum ''. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 10 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Frequently Asked Questions - Visiting and Using the National Archives ''. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 10 October 2015. ^ Jump up to : History of the National Archives Building Archived 2012 - 01 - 06 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : `` A Short History of the National Archives Building, Washington, DC ''. archives.gov. Retrieved 10 May 2015. Jump up ^ Progressive Engineer : Feature - National Archives Building Renovation Jump up ^ National Archives Building Renovation - Grunley Construction Jump up ^ Lee, Felicia R. ( June 10, 2013 ). `` Expansion at the National Archives Means More Focus on Human Rights ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Warren Commission Meets ''. Lodi News - Sentinel. Lodi, California. UPI. December 6, 1964. p. 2. Retrieved November 12, 2014. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.. Geographic data related to National Archives Building at OpenStreetMap National Archives Museum official website U.S. National Archives and Records Administration official website Historical documents of the United States Constitution Preamble & Articles Preamble II III IV V VI VII Amendments Ratified 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pending Congressional Apportionment Titles of Nobility Corwin ( State Domestic Institutions ) Child Labor Unsuccessful Equal Rights District of Columbia Voting Rights See also List of Constitutional Amendments Bill of Rights ( Amendments 1 -- 10 ) Reconstruction Amendments ( Amendments 13 -- 15 ) Amendment proposals in Congress Conventions to propose amendments State ratifying conventions Formation History Articles of Confederation Mount Vernon Conference Annapolis Convention Philadelphia Convention Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Connecticut Compromise Three - Fifths Compromise Committee of Detail Signing Independence Hall Syng inkstand The Federalist Papers Anti-Federalist Papers Massachusetts Compromise Virginia Ratifying Convention Hillsborough Convention Drafting and ratification timeline Clauses Appointments Appropriations Assistance of Counsel Bill of credit Case or Controversy Citizenship Commerce Compact Compulsory Process Confrontation Contract Copyright and Patent Double Jeopardy Due Process Equal Protection Establishment Exceptions Excessive Bail Ex post facto Extradition Free Exercise Free Speech Fugitive Slave Full Faith and Credit General Welfare Guarantee Impeachment Import - Export Ineligibility ( Emolument ) Militia Natural - born citizen Necessary and Proper New States No Religious Test Oath or Affirmation Origination Petition Postal Presentment Privileges and Immunities Privileges or Immunities Recommendation Self - Incrimination Speech or Debate Speedy Trial State of the Union Supremacy Suspension Take Care Takings Taxing and Spending Territorial Title of Nobility Treaty Trial by Jury Vesting Vicinage War Powers List of clauses Interpretation Concurrent powers Congressional enforcement Constitutional law Criminal procedure Criminal sentencing Dormant Commerce Clause Enumerated powers Equal footing Executive privilege Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Judicial review Nondelegation doctrine Preemption Saxbe fix Separation of church and state Separation of powers Taxation power Unitary executive theory Signatories Convention President George Washington New Hampshire John Langdon Nicholas Gilman Massachusetts Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King Connecticut William Samuel Johnson Roger Sherman New York Alexander Hamilton New Jersey William Livingston David Brearley William Paterson Jonathan Dayton Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin Thomas Mifflin Robert Morris George Clymer Thomas Fitzsimons Jared Ingersoll James Wilson Gouverneur Morris Delaware George Read Gunning Bedford Jr. John Dickinson Richard Bassett Jacob Broom Maryland James McHenry Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Daniel Carroll Virginia John Blair James Madison North Carolina William Blount Richard Dobbs Spaight Hugh Williamson South Carolina John Rutledge Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Pinckney Pierce Butler Georgia William Few Abraham Baldwin Convention Secretary William Jackson Display and legacy National Archives Charters of Freedom Rotunda Independence Mall Constitution Day Constitution Gardens National Constitution Center Scene at the Signing of the Constitution ( painting ) A More Perfect Union ( film ) Worldwide influence Declaration of Independence Primary author Thomas Jefferson Signatories President of Congress John Hancock ( Massachusetts ) New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew Thornton Massachusetts Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware George Read Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward Jr. Thomas Lynch Jr. Arthur Middleton Georgia Button Gwinett Lyman Hall George Walton See also Virginia Declaration of Rights Lee Resolution Committee of Five Document 's history signing portrait Second Continental Congress `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' Independence Hall Syng inkstand American Revolution Articles of Confederation Signatories Primary drafter John Dickinson New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett John Wentworth Jr. Massachusetts John Hancock Samuel Adams Elbridge Gerry Francis Dana James Lovell Samuel Holten Rhode Island William Ellery Henry Marchant John Collins Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington Oliver Wolcott Titus Hosmer Andrew Adams New York James Duane Francis Lewis William Duer Gouverneur Morris New Jersey John Witherspoon Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania Robert Morris Daniel Roberdeau Jonathan Bayard Smith William Clingan Joseph Reed Delaware Thomas McKean John Dickinson Nicholas Van Dyke Maryland John Hanson Daniel Carroll Virginia Richard Henry Lee John Banister Thomas Adams John Harvie Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina John Penn Cornelius Harnett John Williams South Carolina Henry Laurens William Henry Drayton John Mathews Richard Hutson Thomas Heyward Jr. Georgia John Walton Edward Telfair Edward Langworthy See also Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation American Revolution Perpetual Union Continental Association Signatories President of Congress Peyton Randolph New Hampshire John Sullivan Nathaniel Folsom Massachusetts Bay Thomas Cushing Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins Samuel Ward Connecticut Eliphalet Dyer Roger Sherman Silas Deane New York Isaac Low John Alsop John Jay James Duane Philip Livingston William Floyd Henry Wisner Simon Boerum New Jersey James Kinsey William Livingston Stephen Crane Richard Smith John De Hart Pennsylvania Joseph Galloway John Dickinson Charles Humphreys Thomas Mifflin Edward Biddle John Morton George Ross The Lower Counties Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean George Read Maryland Matthew Tilghman Thomas Johnson, Junr William Paca Samuel Chase Virginia Richard Henry Lee George Washington Patrick Henry, Junr Richard Bland Benjamin Harrison Edmund Pendleton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes Richard Caswell South Carolina Henry Middleton Thomas Lynch Christopher Gadsden John Rutledge Edward Rutledge See also Virginia Association First Continental Congress Carpenters ' Hall Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Landmarks of Washington, D.C. Memorials Adams African American Civil War American Veterans Disabled for Life Belmont - Paul Women 's Equality National Monument Mary McLeod Bethune Boy Scout James Buchanan D.C. War Albert Einstein Emancipation John Ericsson First Division James A. Garfield Samuel Gompers Ulysses S. Grant Holocaust Museum Holodomor Genocide Japanese American Patriotism During World War II Jefferson Memorial Lyndon Baines Johnson Grove John Paul Jones Marquis de Lafayette Law Enforcement Officers Lincoln Memorial Martin Luther King, Jr. Korean War Veterans George Mason George Meade National Statuary Hall Collection Navy -- Merchant Marine Nuns of the Battlefield Peace Monument Pentagon Second Division Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Extra Mile The Three Soldiers Jean de Rochambeau Franklin Delano Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Island Taras Shevchenko Statues of the Liberators Oscar Straus Robert A. Taft Titanic United States Air Force United States Navy Victims of Communism Vietnam Veterans Vietnam Women 's Washington Monument Daniel Webster World War II Rainbow Pool Other Capitol Reflecting Pool Immaculate Conception Basilica Ford 's Theatre Petersen House Healy Hall Islamic Center Jefferson Pier John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Library of Congress National Arboretum National Building Museum National Gallery of Art Lincoln 's Cottage at Soldiers ' Home Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool National Archives Newseum National Cathedral National Mall Old Post Office Pavilion Old Stone House Smithsonian Institution The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace Tidal Basin Treasury Building Tudor Place Union Station United States Capitol United States Supreme Court Building White House Willard Hotel Parks and plazas Constitution Gardens Dupont Circle East Potomac Park Freedom Plaza Lafayette Square L'Enfant Plaza Meridian Hill Park National Arboretum Pershing Park Rock Creek Park The Ellipse United States Botanic Garden West Potomac Park Boundaries Anacostia River Arlington Memorial Bridge Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Constitution Avenue Francis Scott Key Bridge Pennsylvania Avenue Potomac River Zero Milestone Planned Adams Memorial Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial General Francis Marion Memorial Gold Star Mothers Monument National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial National Liberty Memorial Peace Corps Monument World War I Related National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission National Mall and Memorial Parks List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Public art in Washington, D.C. ( Outdoor sculpture, American Revolution Statuary, Civil War Monuments, commemorating African - Americans ) U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types Lists by states Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Lists by insular areas American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Lists by associated states Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau Other areas District of Columbia Morocco Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Archives_Building&oldid=814880287 '' Categories : Buildings of the United States government in Washington, D.C. Government buildings completed in 1935 Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C. History museums in Washington, D.C. John Russell Pope buildings Libraries in Washington, D.C. Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Library buildings completed in 1935 National Archives and Records Administration Office buildings in Washington, D.C. Rotundas ( architecture ) Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Wikipedia page with obscure country or subdivision Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Русский 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 11 December 2017, at 13 : 32. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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Question: where is the declaration of independence located in washington dc
Answer: in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building