Church Services in the US Capitol Building
An Example of Our Religious Heritage America's strong religious heritage can be seen in the 1800s when, for many decades, church services were held in the US Capitol building. The Marine Corps Band even played at some of these meetings! From 1793 through 1800, the Capitol building in Washington, DC was under construction. Congress was finally able to relocate at the end of 1800 and approved the Capitol's use as a church. This was not a new use for this building as a local newspaper noted in 1795 that " public worship is now regularly administered at the Capitol, every Sunday morning ." The Marine Corps Band was established in 1798 during John Adams' administration while the nation's capital was in Philadelphia. Their first concert occurred near the future site of the Lincoln Memorial 221 years ago: August 21, 1800. Thomas Jefferson " constantly attended public worship in the Hall [the Capitol]" while serving as President. (The congreg...