Ron Sarasin has served as president and chief executive officer of the United States Capitol Historical Society since 2000. The society has produced books, calendars and videos documenting the history of the Capitol building and the legacy of the nation.
How did you first get interested in the Capitol’s history?
I’m a former member of Congress from Connecticut a number of years ago, and I had a lot of interest in the Capitol having served as an elected official.
What’s one of the most interesting items in your archives?
We have a variety of historical items. Many of the items we’ve been able to obtain over the years we’ve given to the Capitol building itself. We’ve recently received a comforter cloth woven with pictures of the Capitol with the old dome.
What’s your favorite room in the Capitol?
The rotunda has to be the obvious choice just because of the symbolism of its being the part of the building right under the dome, in the place where many of our national events take place. But really all of the Capitol, the entire building, is an amazing structure.
What programs do you offer the public?
Our mission is to educate the public about the art and the architecture and the people who have served in the Congress for all those years. We do a number of lectures, historical seminars and publications for young people, adults and historians. It’s an ongoing series of programs. We do a series of tours of the city for local eighth-graders as an educational experience for them. We also have our August brown-bag lunch series. We encourage people to bring lunches and listen to our historians.
