Episode 17: The Rayburn Garage

by Kitty Felde

(photo by RebelAt at English Wikipedia)

The Rayburn House Office Building and the garage underneath were completed in 1965. The Architect of the Capitol, the government agency assigned to maintain the infrastructure on Capitol Hill, describes it this way: “The design of the building is a modified H plan with four stories above ground, two basements, and three levels of underground garage space.”

The Rayburn Garage is an easy place to get lost, with multiple doors leading to stairs and elevators all over the building. It's not hard to get lost, trying to navigate the various levels.

And after more than 50 years, the Rayburn Garage needed some major repairs. 

The AOC described the damage this way: “Years of leaking water and melting snow mixed with road salts caused significant corrosion to the Rayburn House Office Building garage's structural concrete. Interim measures were periodically put in place to extend its life. Unfortunately, some areas deteriorated to the point where interim measures were no longer an option, and parking could no longer safely be supported.”

(photo courtesy Architect of the Capitol)

Congressional staffers complained about how long the repairs were taking, about dust falling on cars, about the noise. Those complaints found their way into the pages of State of the Union.

Construction was finally finished as the repair crew turned its attention to remodeling the Cannon House Office Building - something that plays a role in the next Fina Mendoza Mystery "Snake in the Grass."

(photo courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol)

President Kennedy speaks at the laying of the cornerstone in 1962

The Rayburn Building itself was a challenge to build. The site was atop the Tiber Creek Sewer. The soil was lousy, incapable of supporting the weight of the building, and the slope of the hill required a 70' hole on the eastern side of the building.

(photo by Kitty Felde)

The Rayburn gets a little love in the Capitol Market, the snack bar in the basement of the U.S. Capitol. They named a sandwich after the building.

Here’s the fiction inspired by the facts:

In Episode 17 of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries, Congresswoman Mitchell complains when the jackhammers start rattling the Rayburn House Office Building.

CONGRESSWOMAN MITCHELL: Argh! I wish they’d get done already.

FINA: Who?

CONGRESSWOMAN MITCHELL: The Architect of the Capitol. They’re fixing the Rayburn garage. The concrete down there is quite literally falling apart. A piece of the ceiling even fell right on top of a car. Not my car, thank goodness. They’ve been working on that garage for weeks. The noise is so loud, it shakes the whole building. At least they don’t start until after five.

FINA: But it’s only four thirty.

CONGRESSWOMAN MITCHELL: Usually.

Claudia complains about the construction, too: Gee. I hope they finish the construction on the Rayburn garage soon. I’m tired of getting my car washed every week to get all the dust off.

Fina doesn’t like the Rayburn garage, saying, I always get lost.