By the turn of the twentieth century, there wasn't enough space in the Capitol anymore for all the members of Congress to work in. Work on various office buildings then began to the south and north of the Capitol. Now both sides of the Capitol feature clusters of buildings that provide space for the legislators and their staffs. The offices on the north, House side of the Capitol are the Cannon, the Rayburn, and the Longworth buildings. To the south are the Hart, Dirksen, and Russell buildings.
The Russell building has been the site of many historic events. It was the site of the 1954 Army-McCarthy investigation, the 1973 Watergate hearings, the 1987 Iran-Contra hearings, and the 1991 Judge Clarence Thomas Confirmation hearings.
Like many other recent Capitol Hill additions, the House and Senate offices buildings were erected on sites that had previously held boarding houses and taverns. Many of these houses served as homes for members of Congress. Among the most famous of these houses was Mrs. Conrad's, which was Thomas Jefferson's home in 1800-1801, while he served as vice president under John Adams. Mrs. Conrad's boarding house later became the Varnum Hotel, which continued to served various legislators until it was torn down in 1929 to make way for the Longworth office building.
