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Located midway between the U.S. Capitol and the White House, the National Archives features a permanent display of the nation's three most important documents Ñ the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Helium pumped into airtight display cases protects the documents in the 75-foot, half-domed Exhibit Hall. Each night, and during emergencies, the heavy cases automatically descend into a vault.

Less prominently displayed throughout the building are many other momentous documents, including Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty and patent drawings for Edison's light bulb. Many people mine the Archives for more personal gems Ñ items that help them trace their family history. As the official storehouse for federal records deemed permanently valuable, the Archives holds 3.25 billion documents in 21 floors of library stacks and storerooms, most of which have ceilings lower than seven feet.

Architect John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art, surrounded the neoclassic limestone building with 72 Corinthian columns, 52 feet high. Pope specified allegorical artwork on the massive bronze doors, pediment sculptures, and 13 large medallions near the top of the building. At street level, four heroic statues bear relevant mottoes such as "What is Past is Prologue." The columns and sculptural decorations were carved at the site.

Although politicians had sought a fireproof depository for important public documents since the birth of the nation, construction of the National Archives did not begin until 1931. The site's swampy conditions delayed completion until 1934.

Text © 1997 Terry White, Drawing © 1997 Bill Harrah