Where the Senate Meets

The Senate Chamber, State Capitol

When the General Assembly is in session, the Senate meets for its daily floor sessions in the Senate Chamber at the State Capitol in Richmond. In 1785, the central section of the Virginia State Capitol was designed by Thomas Jefferson after the Maison Carrée at Nîmes, France, when Jefferson was Minister to France. A decision was made in 1904 to renovate and enlarge the Capitol. In 1906, the west and east wings opened. From 2004 to 2007, the Capitol was restored, renovated and expanded. The expansion included an underground extension that added 27,000 square feet of useable space.

The Senate Chamber is located on the second floor of the west wing of Virginia’s State Capitol.

Senate Chamber (photo carousel)

The General Assembly Building

The General Assembly Building houses the individual offices for the 40 Senators, 100 members of the House of Delegates,--together known as the General Assembly--as well as committee rooms and offices for legislative staff. It is the first purpose-built home for the nation’s oldest continuously meeting legislative body. Constructed on the same footprint as the former building with the same name, demolition began in 2017 and was highlighted by preservation of the historic 1912 façade of the oldest of three buildings that were combined to form the previous General Assembly Building. Click here to map it.

View of the General Assembly Building from Capitol Square

Senate Committee Room A, General Assembly Building