Archivi Nazionali
Washington, D.C.
The National Archives keep the documents of the United States government. In the building on Constitution Avenue you can see the texts the country was founded on.
Papers to save
For a long time, government documents were kept wherever there was room. Many were lost or damaged. In 1926 Congress launched a big program of public buildings, and the archives became the top priority.
The same architect as the museum
In 1930 Andrew Mellon chose John Russell Pope. The architect proposed a grand building, with giant columns, huge doors and carved sayings. The site was moved here, between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenue.
A building site on a stream
From 1801 there was a farmers' market here. In 1931 the last big market, with about seven hundred sellers, was torn down. An old stream runs underneath: to keep the water out, workers drove in 8,575 posts. In 1933 Herbert Hoover, then leading the country, laid the first stone.
The round hall
The building was finished in 1937. Three texts are on display in the round hall: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Together they are the country's founding documents. Beside the entrances stand four large stone statues, two on each side.
