Becoming the Women’s Reading Room

The Capitol, designed long before women could actively participate in lawmaking, was ill-prepared for the changes in Congress during the 20th century. Speaker Nicholas Longworth designated a room on the first floor of the Capitol as a lounge for the three women in the House in 1927.

From Lavatory to a Reading Room

By the end of the 1950s, the number of women in Congress quintupled, bringing to light the inadequacy of the small retiring room far from the House Chamber. In 1958, women in Congress, led by Edith Green of Oregon, began to press for a more appropriate room of their own. With Green’s leadership, the Congresswomen’s petition for control of room H-235, the eventual Boggs Room, was successful, giving them much-needed additional space. Representative Frances Bolton showed a particular interest in outfitting the space, taking the lead in acquiring furniture and choosing upholsteries.

Although not as close to the Chamber as the Members’ Retiring Room and Speaker's Lobby, the Congressional Ladies Retiring Room, as it was first officially called, was a great improvement in convenience. In 1991, room H-235 was renamed the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Congressional Women’s Reading Room to honor Lindy Boggs’s 50-year association with Congress. It was the first room in the Capitol named for a woman. Today, it serves as a gathering place for Congresswomen.

The Honorable Constance A. Morella shares memories of the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Room:

View similar videos from the Oral History project, A Century of Women in Congress.

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