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American Morning

Plans to Build Underground Visitor Center in Capitol

Aired August 29, 2001 - 09:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Different kind of reality in Washington. If you are one of those visitors who has dealt with the nasty crowds in Washington, a new campaign is being launched that could help you. It's going to raise private funds for a new visitor center at the U.S. capitol.

For more on that project, we turn to our Jeanne Meserve who is on the hill. Jeanne, good morning. Good to see you.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. We are here on the east side of the capitol. Let me orient you. On the other side of the building is the capitol mall. Over here on my other side is the U.S. Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.

It's right here under this east plaza that there are plans to build an underground visitor center. The estimated price tag: $256 million. But supporters say the need is obvious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAN HANTMAN, ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL: I guess it was in July of 1998 we had the horrible murder of the two police officers at the capitol. J.J. Chestnut and John Gibson were shot and murdered inside the capitol.

Within three months, we had $100 million appropriated as the first increment of dollars for this visitors center, with the legislation indicating that another $100 million would be raised through private fund-raising efforts.

This entire facility is beneath the plaza here. The concept here is to not compete with the capitol or with the historic landscape, but to complement it in a very gentle way.

So, the visitor center will be designed to accommodate at least 4,000 people at any one time. And on an hourly, we expect some 1,500 people would be cycled through the building.

Folks who are waiting on line for an hour, two hours, three hours, often get exhausted, especially the older folks. And we do have people who need some medical care. We have water that is issued to people on the lines in especially in hot weather. Clearly, in cold weather there are similar issues and problems.

MESERVE (voice-over): What's the longest you've ever waited in line to get one of your groups through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've waited about four hours. And sometimes we've waited so long that we've even turned it away. It's awful when you have eighth-grade kids coming from Alaska, and they can't even get in to see their own capitol building. And then it's hot and miserable. I'm so excited. I hope that they -- they can't get the underground done soon enough for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (on camera): Now, Washington's peak tourist season is already passing. But this morning, several hundred people already waiting in line to get in and see the capitol. Authorities tell me that, although it's not too hot today, in the course of a year, 400 to 500 people require medical attention because of the heat or the cold they suffer while waiting in line.

Next hour we're going to take a look at where the money for this will come from. CNN LIVE THIS MORNING continues in just a moment.

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