The earliest of the desks still in use today date to 1819, when the Senate procured 48 new desks for $34 each from New York cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine to furnish the newly rebuilt Senate Chamber. The Chamber (now the Old Senate Chamber) had just reopened following a devastating fire set by the British on August 24, 1814, that destroyed the room’s original furnishings. By commissioning Constantine to create a desk for each senator, the Senate affirmed its custom of having members sit at individual desks. All the original Constantine desks remain in use by the Senate.
As new states entered the Union, the Senate acquired additional desks of similar design for the Chamber. When the Senate moved into its current Chamber in 1859, the 64 desks then in use were moved as well. For more than 70 years, the Senate contracted private cabinetmakers to make new desks. Since 1889, the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms Cabinet Shop has built the desks (a total of 25). The six newest desks were made between 1958 and 1964—four due to the admittance of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union and two additional unassigned desks.
There are noticeable variations in the desks’ shapes and dimensions. Some differences result from the original semicircular arrangement of the desks in the Old Senate Chamber. Unlike in the modern era, desks made for the Old Senate Chamber had fixed positions on the floor, and the shape of each desk reflected its location in the room: aisle desks were narrower and more angled, while desks in the center were wider and squarer. Today, senators may choose both the desk at which they sit and its placement within the Chamber. Desk occupancy can change every two years with a new Congress, and is based on seniority.
Many traditions pertaining to the Senate desks have evolved over the years, and each new class of senators that occupies them contributes to their heritage. Through careful documentation and diligent preservation, this rich historical legacy will be maintained for future generations. On this website, explore the history, stories, traditions, and occupants of the Senate Chamber desks.
