Architect of the Capitol

Usually when an event as wonderful as the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has its 50 th anniversary, the events surrounding it are packed with people ready to celebrate. That was the plan this year, but the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything and yet nothing.

For 50 years, the arrival of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has brought enormous excitement to the workers who deliver the tree across the country and then hoist the towering conifer into place on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill.

You know Christmas is right around the corner when images of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree being hoisted from a very long tractor trailer show up on your social media apps and on TV. An ongoing American tradition since 1964, this year, the great tree called fondly by its fans “An Idaho Mountain...

When U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan asked Anna Devolld, a ten year old child from Alaska, to flip the switch, a momentary hush came across the crowd as thousands of lights on a massive tree illumined the West Lawn just below both Houses of Congress. More than a year of planning went...

For over 90 years the majestic Lutz spruce stood silently in the Chugach National Forest near Seward, Alaska. Hidden from most tourists, except intrepid hikers, the spruce, as high as a seven story building, would have aged in obscurity but for a stroke of luck: this Lutz spruce was chosen among the...

A crown jewel of American Christmas trees lit the night sky Dec. 3 as thousands of lights burst around the 88-foot-tall 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree. A momentary hush of silent awe overcame the crowd gathered on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol to witness the ceremony that has origins dating back to...

As the 88-foot Engelmann spruce is paraded into Washington, D.C., today, Nov. 25, it brings with it an annual tradition that has been rooted in history and shared by millions of Americans for decades. The 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree is a gift from the Colville National Forest and people living in...