The National Archives building holds original copies of the three main formative documents of the United States and its government: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

The building hosts additional important American historical items, including the Continental Association, the Articles of Confederation, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, and collections of photography and other historically and culturally significant American and international artifacts, including an original version of the 1297 Magna Carta confirmed by Edward I.

[6] From its founding, the U.S. federal government has documented its policies and decisions, but for almost 150 years it had virtually no method or place to safeguard historically important records.

During those years, officials occasionally decried federal neglect, or too often, fires destroyed important documents, reinforcing the need for an archives.

Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon gave the responsibility for designing the Triangle grouping to a Board of Architectural Consultants.

Commissioners suggested that the noted architect John Russell Pope be added to the Board of Architectural Consultants and that he design the National Archives.

In place of Simon's design, Pope's National Archives was to be a neoclassical temple befitting an institution dedicated to American history.

Because the massive structure was to be constructed above an underground stream, the Tiber Creek, 8,575 piles had been driven into the unstable soil, before pouring a huge concrete bowl as a foundation.

Both limestone and granite were authorized as acceptable, but construction began during the darkest days of the Great Depression, and suppliers of each material lobbied fiercely to have the government use their stone.

[clarification needed] John Russell Pope's vision of the Archives as a temple of history has been preserved through maintenance and periodic restoration work on the building since the mid-1930s.

[7] The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights have been displayed to the public in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building since 1952.

Since 1987, these inspections have been greatly enhanced through the use of an electronic imaging monitoring system developed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

These were carved by James Earl Fraser, assisted by David Rubins, Sidney Waugh and carver Gino A.

"[14] Inscribed in her pedestal is "The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future," a quote from Wendell Phillips, around which are symbols that represent "the importance of home.

[18] Investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Warren Commission met formally for the first time on December 5, 1963 in a hearing room on the second floor of the National Archives Building.

[19] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration.