What Are These Tiny Doors Found Throughout The US Capitol Building?

A curious feature of a famous building

(By USCapitol — Tiny Doors in the U.S. Capitol, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51154353)

If you have ever been fortunate enough to take a tour of the US Capitol or find yourself in those hollowed halls for business or political purposes, you might have noticed a series of tiny doors that adorn the corridors. These doors feature diminutive arched tops and stand just 30 inches tall. They are far too small to be of any use as a portal to different areas of the capital. They are also placed in odd areas that seemingly serve no apparent purpose.

What is up with these tiny doors? Are they decorative? Do they hide secrets lurking within the capitol? The answer to these questions actually has to do with the city’s 19th century aqueduct. The existence of these strange doors and the connection to the city’s water supply reveals a rich history of the US capital that few people are aware of.

(By Bestbudbrian — Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51409217)

Between 1853 and 1863, Washington, D.C., saw the construction of the Washington Aqueduct. This was the first major water project built in the US capital, and it was designed to ferry ample amounts of water into the city. The aqueduct was designed as the result…