Comfort and Efficiency for All

What the Rayburn building lacked in crowd-pleasing beauty it made up for in amenities. Some features, like the three levels of interior parking, a cafeteria that could serve 2000 diners over a typical lunchtime, and wiring for closed circuit television, increased efficiency for all, though they lacked glamour and received little attention in the press. The most remarked-upon new features were  just catching up with amenities that Senators had long enjoyed.

A swimming pool was wished for and granted. Back when the Longworth building was planned, a pool for Members’ use was suggested, but the idea was scuttled. The Rayburn building's large floorplan offered the opportunity that Members had awaited. Both the pool and a gym, spread over three subterranean floors, were well suited to the extensive space. When President Lyndon Johnson dedicated the gym in March of 1965, he couldn't resist the obvious joke: this place may “help get rid of the fat in the legislature.” There were plenty of accoutrements to help Members feel the burn—including rowing machines, stationary bikes, and paddleball courts—as well as aids to relaxation. A steam room, a sauna, and “a flock of comfortable cots for those seeking relaxation by less strenuous means,” as the Baltimore Sun reported in 1965, rounded out the new facility.

A two-car electric train began service between Rayburn and the Capitol in the building’s first year of occupation. Headlines snarked that “Members of the House Need Walk to Work No More,” but in their defense, Members walked to work for 57 years after their counterparts on the other side of the hill installed a train in the first Senate office building.

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