Frequently Asked Questions

They’re called cenotaphs, which means “empty tomb.” Congressional Cemetery is home to 171 cenotaphs, which honor members of Congress who died in office during the first several decades of the Nation’s history. Designed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who was then working on the new south wing of the Capitol, these identical Aquia Creek sandstone cenotaphs reflected the classical inspiration that was shaping the city plan and its new Capitol building. They were a marked departure from the typical shape and size of early American gravestones, which were generally colonial-type tablets. Historic photos show that the cenotaphs were painted white at some point. Despite Latrobe’s best intentions, public opinion of the cenotaphs tended to be less than favorable even in the earliest years of the burying ground and the use of the cenotaphs discontinued in 1876 when Senator Hoar of Massachusetts argued that this tradition should be abandoned saying that “the thought of being buried beneath one of those atrocities brought new terror to death.”