Welcome To The Capitol

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1.    The Capitol

a.     Welcome to The Capitol
b.     Building and Rebuilding
c.     January Sixth
d.     The Capitol Today
e.     Did You Know?

2.    The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center

a.     Welcome to the Capitol Visitor Center
b.     Facts and Facilities
c.     Education and Exploration
d.     When You Visit

i.         A Great Experiment
ii.         No Guarantees
iii.        People Like Yourself

e.     Did You Know 

3.    The Capitol’s Architecture

a.     Welcome to the Capitol’s Architecture
b.     Architect of the Capitol
c.     Work Begins
d.     Revision and Expansion

i.         Criticism
ii.         Conflict
iii.         Mixed Stylles
iv.         New Uses
v.         Economy Versus Permanence and Beauty

e.       Conclusion
f.     Did You Know?

4.    The Rotunda

a.     Welcome to the Rotunda
b.     A Space of Many Uses
c.     Inspire, Memorialize, Share

i.         The Apotheosis
ii.         The Frieze
iii.         The Eight Paintings
iv.         The Statues
v.         Sandstone Carvings

d.     Did You Know?

5.    National Statuary Hall

a.     Welcome to National Statuary Hall
b.     History
c.     Key Features
d.     Artwork
e.     Other Uses
f.      Did You Know?

6.    The Senate Chamber

a.     Welcome to the Senate Chamber
b.     The First Two Senate Chambers in the Capitol
c.     The Current Chamber
d.     Senate Desks
e.     Did You Know?

7.    The House Chamber

a.     Welcome to the House Chamber
b.     Evolution of a Meeting Space
c.     Musical Chairs – And Desks
d.     Inside the Chamber

i.         The Mace
ii.         Portraits
iii.         Inkstand

e.     Watching Democracy at Work
f.      Did You Know?

8.    The House Wing

a.     Welcome to the House Wing
b.     The Hall of Columns
c.     Minton Tiles
d.     The Iron Library
e.     Bronze Doors
f.      Did You Know?

9.    The Senate Wing

a.     Welcome to the Senate Wing
b.     Electric Lightings
c.     The Brumidi Corridors and Meeting Rooms
d.     The President’s Room and the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office
e.     Did You Know?

10. The Crypt

a.     Welcome to the Crypt
b.     A Changing Space
c.     Honoring Washington
d.     Today
e.     Did You Know?

11. The Capitol Grounds

a.     Welcome to the Capitol Grounds
b.     Three Hands

i.         L’Enfant
ii.         Olmstead
iii.         White

c.     Treasures

i.         The Summerhouse
ii.         Court of Neptune Fountain
iii.         Taft Memorial and Carillion
iv.         Trees
v.         Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
vi.         Senate Parks and Fountain

d.     Conclusion
e.     Did You Know?

12. Capitol Hill

a.     Welcome to Capitol Hill
b.     Architect of the Capitol
c.     The Library of Congress
d.     The Supreme Court
e.     The Botanic Garden
f.      Capitol Tunnels
g.     Part of Capitol Hill is no Longer on Capitol Hill
h.     Did You Know?

13. Learn More

Notes

 Legal
Images
Intent

Chapter 1
The Capitol

The words capital and capitol can easily be confused. Though pronounced the same, capital (with an "a") refers to the city where a county's central government is located. It is also the topmost, scroll-like portion of an architectural column. The Capitol (with an "o") is the name of the building where Congress meets –and the name of a temple in Rome. So, you could say: The capitals atop the columns of The Capitol (spelled with a capital "C"), and modeled on The Capitol in Rome, can all be found in the nation's capital.

Welcome to The Capitol

The U.S. Capitol has evolved over time in its use, its design, and most notably in its size. However, it's most important purpose has remained constant throughout its 200+ year history; namely, as the home of the first branch of our government – the Legislature. Following the one sentence preamble or introduction of The Constitution, the very first subject addressed in Article I, Section 1 is the establishment of Congress. And shortly thereafter, The Constitution provides for the creation of a federal district to become "the Seat of the Government of the United States."

Where that federal district should be located was left unsaid and it was up to then-President George Washington to select the land now known as the District of Columbia or Washington, DC. The District was originally a square, ten miles per side, oriented so its corners pointed due north, south, east, and west. With some of that original land returned to Virginia, the District now comprises just over 68 square miles instead of the original 100. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, was engaged to design a detailed plan for the new city. Influenced by European cities like Paris, L'Enfant laid out a strict grid pattern for the city's streets, intersected by broad avenues running on diagonals. This resulted in a number of smaller, triangular-shaped parcels of land, which were perfect for parks and welcomed green space.

But the question remained: Where to situate a building for the nation's new legislature? After surveying the land, L'Enfant selected Jenkins' Hill, the second-tallest point in the city for the new Capitol building. Over time the area came to be known as Capitol Hill or simply The Hill. L'Enfant's sense of symmetry and proportion might have led him to place The Capitol at the direct center of the city, but with Jenkins' Hill rising 88' above the nearby Potomac River, the site's elevated prominence made it a natural choice. Here would rise the permanent home of Congress, which would meet in eight other cities before moving to Washington; Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York City.

As visitors to the city soon discover, Washington, DC is divided into four quadrants (Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast), with numbered streets running north-south and first lettered and then syllabled streets running east-west. All of the streets radiate from a central point with the numbering and naming beginning anew in each quadrant. That means there are, for example, actually four intersections of 4th and D Streets, but each with a separate quadrant designation (NW, NE, SW, SE).

And where is that central point where all of the quadrants meet? At the exact center of The Capitol there is a marble compass rose embedded in the floor of the Crypt, the room originally intended as the burial place for George Washington. L'Enfant chose The Capitol as the city's center to underscore the importance of Congress.

Building and Rebuilding

In addition to his plan for the federal city, L'Enfant was to have designed the new Capitol. However, when he failed to produce the drawings, the nation's first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, instead held an architectural competition. The winner was to receive $500 and a plot of land in the city. None of the plans submitted though pleased President Washington.

Fortunately, Dr. William Thornton, a Scottish physician and amateur architect, living in the British West Indies, asked to submit a design. And even though the competition was then closed, he was invited to present. His plan pleased both the three Commissioners overseeing the District and the President, who gave it his approval on July 25, 1793. Less than two months later, on September 18th, Washington laid the cornerstone at what was to be the southeast corner of the building.

Congress imposed a seven-year deadline for completing and occupying The Capitol, but with inadequate funding and difficult working conditions (all of the stones had be quarried and then ferried up-river some 40 miles), the project fell behind schedule. It was decided to concentrate all efforts on what is today the Senate side of The Capitol and by 1800 that portion was sufficiently completed to accommodate the House, the Senate, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the courts of the District of Columbia.

Seven years later, the House of Representatives moved into its wing, which was itself completed four years after that. By 1811 the two wings were connected only by a covered, wooden walkway.

On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, the British set fire to The Capitol. It did great damage to the buildings, which were saved only and fortunately by a heavy rainstorm. Damage from the fire and weathering of the original sandstone meant years of reconstruction, this time using marble brought all the way from Massachusetts. A copper-covered wooden dome was added to the central space. But by that time, with the increasing number of states and the increase in overall population, the meeting places of both the House and the Senate had grown cramped. New chambers were built, with the House of Representatives occupying its own in 1857 and the Senate theirs two years later. The House's old chamber came Statuary Hall and the Senate's previous home became the Supreme Court from 1860-1935 and was then restored to replicate the old Senate chamber for visitors.

Work was again suspended during the Civil War, during which The Capitol was used as a military barracks, a hospital, and even a bakery. With the then greatly expanded north and south wings in place, it was apparent that the dome was now too small and out of proportion to the rest of the building. By 1863 a new cast iron and masonry dome was in place and the stunning 19' 6" statue of freedom secured at its peak, giving the profile we know today.

Meanwhile, Frederick Law Olmstead, a leading landscape architect, famous for designing New York City's Central Park, created a sweeping and graceful plan for the surrounding grounds and walkways, most of which can be seen and enjoyed today. An underappreciated aspect of Olmstead's design was the way every element, whether tree grove or fountain, lantern or path, all work to preserve views of The Capitol and enhance its preeminent position atop Capitol Hill.

Over the following years, expansions and restorations continued, prompted in part by a fire and gas explosion. Most notably, the east front (the long side facing the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court) was faithfully reproduced in marble and moved more than 32' outward, creating additional meeting and office space. The west front (facing down the National Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial) was also restored, replacing the original sandstone with more durable limestone. Both sides received substantial stairs and terracing, giving the building a more solid and grounded appearance. And one by one, modern conveniences were added as well, including steam heat, elevators, electric lighting, air conditioning, fireproofing, and more.

By far the largest addition to The Capitol was completed in 2008, the adjoining Capitol Visitor Center, located underground, beneath the east plaza. The Center (or CVC) is larger than 10 football fields and now welcomes millions of visitors from around the world each year. It is the starting point for Capitol tours and houses a theater and dozens of exhibits. L'Enfant had originally called Jenkins' Hill "a pedestal waiting for a superstructure." Given The Capitol's size and grand proportions today, L'Enfant would surely have been pleased. Much like the history of the republic is symbolizes, The Capitol has continued to evolve and improve over time, reflecting both the needs and the aspirations of the nation's citizens. It has rightly been called The People's House, keeping safe some of our greatest treasures and providing the backdrop for our most ambitious futures.

January Sixth 

Having described elsewhere the damages inflicted on The Capitol by multiple fires, construction collapse, the War of 1812, and its use as a bakery and a barracks during the Civil Way, it would be remiss not to mention the damages The Capitol sustained on January 6, 2021. The political and social damages perpetrated that day are beyond the scope of this book. Suffice it to say that they continue to this day and their outcome is less than certain.

First and foremost, it should be mentioned that some nine people died as a result of the riot, including five police officers.

The Capitol itself sustained a minimum of $30 million in damages. Doors, windows, paintings, sculptures, murals, historic furniture, two of the Olmsted lanterns, and even the Columbus Doors on the east front of The Capitol were all damaged, defaced, or destroyed. Furniture, laptops, and more were stolen. Damage from pepper spray, bear repellant, fire extinguishers, blood, and feces was extensive. A full restoration of the building, the grounds, and the artifacts will take years to complete.

The Capitol Today

Today The Capitol itself is one of 15 nearby buildings overseen by Congress, including nine office buildings, the U.S. Botanic Garden, The Capitol Visitor Center, three buildings housing the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court is generally considered part of The Capitol complex and even though it is overseen and maintained by the Architect of The Capitol, it is actually the seat of the separate, judicial branch of our government. Despite the priceless works of art it contains and the lofty allegorical symbols with which it is adorned, The Capitol is first and foremost a working office. Every day, people come to The Capitol to help conduct the nation's business. In addition to the 100 Senators and 435 Members of the House of Representatives, over 10,000 people work in The Capitol itself and the surrounding offices doing everything from constituent and legislative services to sorting mail, doing maintenance, serving meals, providing security, escorting and informing visitors, and so much more. This small city (with over half a dozen of its own Zip Codes!) is not just The Capitol…it is Your Capitol.

In the next chapters, we'll look more closely as some of The Capitol's special places and the important events that occurred there.

Did you Know?

1. Many people believe it is a law that no building in Washington, DC can be taller than The Capitol. That is a myth. The city's building height restriction, enacted in 1910, was motivated by fire safety and wanting to preserve the open character of the broad city streets.

2. And speaking of height, Capitol Hill is not the highest hill in DC. That honor goes to Reno Hill in Fort Reno Park in upper Northwest DC. Why do you think Reno Hill was not chosen as the site of The Capitol? Could it be its distance from the river? Why would that have been important?

3. Washington, DC is not the only U. S. city divided into quadrants. Albuquerque (NM), Rochester (NY), Miami (FL), and Atlanta (GA) also have four quadrants.

4. L'Enfant's original name for the federal district was Washingtonopolis. (Polis is a Greek word meaning city.)

5. The Tholos, or lantern, the windowed area directly beneath the Statue of Freedom atop The Capitol dome, is lit whenever either the House or the Senate is in session or to mark a special occasion.

6. After much research and actual digging, we think we know where The Capitol's cornerstone is located, but we have no proof. It's roughly 5' x 3' x 1' and part of the southeast corner of the building's foundation, pointing generally to where the Cannon Office Building sits today.

Chapter 2
The U.S. Capitol Visitor Center 

Welcome to the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center

Located below-ground and immediately to the east of The Capitol, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is the newest addition to Capitol Hill and the starting point for all Capitol tours. It is not only your entry to The Capitol and your introduction to Congress, but it is also an engaging presentation of the country's founding, principles, and most interesting contributors to its success.

Built over the seven-year period from 2002-2008, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) was conceived to meet a host of visitor needs. Prior to its opening, many of the millions who came each year to tour The Capitol found themselves waiting in long lines outdoors, no matter what the weather. And even after that long wait, many had to be turned away because there was no capacity to safety bring such large numbers of people through the Rotunda, Statuary Hall, the Crypt, and more. Nor were there adequate restaurant and restroom facilities available. And disappointing to many, the old approach of queuing and touring gave little opportunity to understand the history of the building and the backgrounds of the people who built The Capitol and who worked there to perfect the union this building symbolizes.

Facts and Facilities

The CVS is large. It covers 580,000 square feet over three levels, and is roughly threequarters the size of The Capitol itself. It was built below ground level so that The Capitol would remain the central focus of The Hill, just as Capital planner Pierre L'Enfant had intended when selecting Jenkins' Hill as its location and as landscape planner Frederick Law Olmstead had intended when designing the surround grounds. In fact, in building the CVC, a large and unattractive asphalt parking area was removed from the east front area and the graceful lines of Olmstead's vision were restored. 60 trees that had to be removed were replaced by 85 new trees.

For visitors' convenience, there are two coat checks, a large restaurant, two information desks, and eight restrooms. The entire CVC is wheelchair accessible, and wheelchairs are available at the coat check areas. Listening devices are available with different language versions of the tour as are devices with audio descriptions for the hearing impaired.

Education and Exploration

Any Capitol experience begins in The Capitol Visitor Center's Emancipation Hall. There, two immense (30' x 70') skylights offer stunning views of The Capitol dome overhead. The Hall's name dates to a 2007 act of Congress, meant to honor the enslaved persons who helped build The Capitol. Two bronze busts pay tribute to those laborers as well as the nation's commitment to all oppressed people; Sojourner Truth, an escaped slave who became a well-known abolitionist and promoter of women's rights, and Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat credited with saving the lives of tens of thousands of Jews during World War II.

Guided, 45-minute tours of The Capitol begin at the CVC. There you'll be shown a brief orientation film, Out of Many, One, describing the purpose, uses, and history of The Capitol and how it was built, destroyed, rebuilt, and now maintained over its more than 200-year history. The tour will then bring you through the Crypt, the Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall, all described elsewhere in this book.

Either before or after your tour, you may want to do some exploring. 18 statues are placed around Emancipation Hall and the CVC's upper level. These are part of the state-donated collection, whose other statues appear in the Rotunda, the Crypt, and of course Statuary Hall.

Dominating this space, however, is the full-sized plaster model of Thomas Crawford's statue of Freedom that stands atop The Capitol dome. Like its bonze counterpart, it is over 19 feet tall. You'll be able to see some of the remarkable details, like the eagle helmet, that are difficult to discern when standing outside and looking up nearly the length of a football field. The model itself has an interesting history, having years ago been sawn into pieces and stored in different locations until being brought to the CVC and reassembled. At the time, the model was covered in lead paint, all carefully removed by hand. And, in a wonderful reversal, restorers knew exactly how to repair the damaged plaster because some of them had been the very people who had years before restored the bronze original far above.

One man who worked on the casting of the statue, Philip Reid, was a slave, purchased by the Foundry owner, Clark Mills. As was the custom at the time, Reid worked throughout the week and was paid only for his labor on Sunday, all other salary going to Reid's owner. Reid became a free man in 1862, when President Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, though it is not known if Reid was present for the completion of the installation atop the dome a year later.

Immediately behind Freedom is Exhibition Hall, with its many models of The Capitol throughout the years, historic documents, and many artifacts. A large hands-on scale model of the dome and central section of The Capitol gives visitors a sense of the intricate detail of the dome and the proportions that give it monumentality and grace.

The six principal exhibit spaces are each keyed to different times, stretching from the very first Congress to the present day. Together, they constitute a timeline of essential American history, giving context to the building of a nation, not just the building of its halls of government.

When You Visit

There is so much to see and so much to learn when you visit the CVC and tour The Capitol, as many millions have done since the CVC opened its doors on December 2, 2008. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming! Here are three thoughts you might keep in mind when you visit that may help you connect everything you experience there. 

• A Great Experiment
In the early 19th Century, French diplomat and historian Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States and wrote a remarkable two-volume memoir, Democracy in America. Praised for his insight into the American character and the functioning of our government, Tocqueville referred to America as a "great experiment." As you read the documents and listen to the words of various Founders, Presidents, and Members of Congress, you'll see that this description still applies. Our history really is an ongoing experiment as we continually try to perfect a government that protects, serves, and respects all of its citizens. Continually building a better America is a long and fascinating process, as important today as it was in 1776.

• No Guarantee
It's easy to think that the form of government we have, the freedoms we enjoy, and even the prosperity we experience are somehow natural and to be expected. As you learn about the many challenges America has faced, you'll see that there has never been a guarantee of our success. The debates in the Continental Congress could have shaped our future in profoundly different ways. The wars we fought for independence, for union, and for democratic values could have turned out quite differently. Times of fear and uncertainty could easily have curtailed freedoms and blunted our liberties. Our only assurance that the American experiment will succeed is, and has always been, our own hard work and persistent vision.

• People Like Yourself
The marble columns and gilded ceilings of The Capitol are unique and beautiful national treasures. The words and ideas contained in documents like The Declaration, The Constitution, Lincoln's Inaugural, and so much more are eloquent and inspiring. But it has always been the sacrifice and courage of individuals, of people much like you, who contributed to making America better in every way. As you look at the statues in the CVC, the Rotunda, Statuary Hall, the Crypt, and elsewhere, think about the lives of the people they represent. They were farmers, reporters, explorers, preachers, teachers, lawyers, merchants, an actor, astronaut, biologist, artist, blacksmith, engineer, and even a keen-eyed humorist and a young girl who overcame blindness, deafness, and the inability to speak.

The American people are our greatest treasure and have made the country we know today. So, what contribution will you make?

Did You Know?

1. Construction of The Capitol Visitor Center required the removal of 65,000 truckloads of soil.

2. The Center hosts some three million visitors each year; 15,000-20,000 a day during peak season. In its first ten years of operation, the Center saw 21 million visitors.

3. Unlike most construction, which starts with a foundation and then builds upward, the CVC was built top-down (with its roof at ground level) to ensure the space above ground was accessible in time for the inauguration of 2005.

4. An underground tunnel allows people to move easily between the Capitol Visitor Center and the Library of Congress.

5. Though the CVC and The Capitol are sited on what L’Enfant called Jenkins’ Hill, Thomas Jenkins was in fact not the owner of the land. Daniel Carroll leased the land to Jenkins for grazing, and it was Carroll who conveyed the land to the federal government, not Jenkins.

Chapter 3
The Capitol's Architecture

 Welcome to the Capitol’s Architecture

From paintings to statues, and even picture frames and clocks –nearly every object in The Capitol has a symbolic meaning. The bundled fasces represent strength from unity and the original 13 colonies. Snakes depict wisdom while eagles remind us of strength and soaring independence. The Latin inscriptions draw a line back to some of the earliest examples of republican government. The statues and paintings illustrate leadership, courage, sacrifice, devotion, and contribution. These reminders of our history, our values, our strengths, and our heroes are ever-present and impress upon legislators and visitors alike our shared heritage and common purpose.

But the building itself is also a symbol. In fact, it is many symbols. The Greek and Roman architectural elements are not merely decorative; they are evocative of the earliest democracies in Greek city-states, of elected leadership in the Roman senate. Bedrock principles of American government are recalled simply by looking at the building that Houses our legislature. And, yes, there is beautiful, white, Italian marble in The Capitol, but there is also sandstone from Virginia; granite from Texas, Maine, Massachusetts, and Virginia; and marble from Georgia, Vermont, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Tennessee –all as befits a nation of such vast and varied resources. Such use of native materials was certainly informed by economy, but for that, their quality and beauty can not be denied and there is justified pride in using stone hewn within our own borders.

Though it may be hard to imagine now, there was no guarantee that the young nation would survive, let alone flourish and thrive. So architecture was also used as a way of embodying permanence and substance. And it reflected our continual expansion and growing self-assurance.

For all of that, one may wonder why a nation striking out in such radically new directions should, really without question or pause, from the beginning wish to build its Capitol in the very same styles so predominant in Great Britain and throughout Europe. It was because these styles were not thought of as European or continental but simply as the highest expression of the architectural and building arts. Columns, capitals, entablatures, and pediments were only Doric, Tuscan, Ionic, Corinthian, or composite. Period. Each of these styles, or orders as they are called, was strictly defined by ratios, measures, and rules that made them recognizable and meaningful to the architects and builders of The Capitol. With time and growing confidence, architects of The Capitol defined new "orders," which were proudly and unmistakably American. For example, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the second architect of The Capitol, designed capitals depicting corncobs (East Vestibule) and others representing tobacco leaves (Small Senate Rotunda), both native species that were critical to the early nation's economy.

Architect of The Capitol

The word architect comes from two Greek words meaning chief builder. While today we might think of architects more as chief designers, throughout much of The Capitol's history, chief builder was a more accurate description. That highlights –and perhaps explains– a good deal of the conflict between on the one hand the architects of The Capitol and on the other hand the commissioners who oversaw the architects and the construction foremen who oversaw the workers. The distinctions between these roles were never very clearly drawn and often very clearly disrespected. Nor did these people all have an equal and deep knowledge of engineering, of materials, of finance, of the power of visual symbols, or even of the importance of stylistic integrity. And, to make the story even more interesting, we can add Presidents and Members of Congress to the collection of people contending over one aspect or another of the building of the U. S. Capitol.

Which makes it all the more remarkable, when you look at The Capitol today, to see a building and its surrounding grounds that are beautiful, inspiring, and harmoniously composed. And remember, too, that there was never just one plan for The Capitol, and all that was needed was to carry its construction through to completion. On the contrary, there were many different designs for different portions of The Capitol, there were fires and wars that destroyed it, there were materials and construction that needed to be replaced, and there were as well multiple repurposings of the spaces themselves. How it all worked out is an engrossing story. How it functions today as both a monument and a workplace is truly extraordinary.

To date there have been 13 architects of The Capitol, though not all have shared that exact title. Some of them, like Benjamin Latrobe and Charles Bulfinch, will be mentioned in following chapters, but all faced significant challenges and all but a few finished their tenure with mixed feelings; proud of what they had achieved but exhausted by the effort it took to do so. Two other persons are worthy of mention here as well. Pierre L'Enfant was the engineer appointed by George Washington to survey the land that was to become Washington, DC; design its streets, parks, and broad avenues; and select the site of The Capitol, White House, and more. The other was Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape architect responsible for the graceful layout of walkways and green spaces that define Capitol Hill as a harmonious whole. More about both of these later. Taken together, the efforts of all of these men have given us The Capitol we admire and given the world the symbol it respects.

Work Begins

Following the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, declaring the general location of the new federal district, President George Washington appointed Pierre L'Enfant to survey the land and devise a plan for the new city. The following year, Washington appointed a three-member Board of Commissioners to oversee the city's administration –and L'Enfant. None of the three had any background or education in architecture or engineering. In contrast, L'Enfant was an engineer who had attended the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris.

L'Enfant proceeded to lay out the city, as directed, selecting Jenkins' Hill for the site of The Capitol. However, he repeatedly failed to provide required designs for The Capitol building or the White House. In fact, he refused to provide his four-quadrant, grid-and-axel design of the city, forcing brothers and associates Andrew and Benjamin Ellicott to redraw the plan from memory. As a result, L'Enfant was dismissed in 1792.

With two years lost on The Capitol and the 1800 deadline for its occupancy moving ever nearer, Jefferson suggested a design competition. The announcement detailed a few requirements, for meeting and committee rooms and such, but no specific style. Jefferson was an ardent classicist, based on his time in Paris, where he particularly admired the Parthenon, and his study of Andrea Palladio and other early designers. Both his design for the University of Virginia and that for his own home (Monticello) expressed this clear preference. Of the design for the new Capitol, he wished it to be based on “one of the models of antiquity, which have had the approbation of thousands of years.”

At least 18 designs by 10 men were received by the deadline. Only one entrant, Etienne (Stephen) Sulpice Hallet, was an architect, and both Washington and Jefferson saw enough promise in Hallet's design to request several rounds of revisions. But a late entry by Dr. William Thornton was accepted and awarded the competition prize, and the Commissioners, perhaps wanting to compensate Hallet, then asked him to review and criticize Thornton's plan, setting an unfortunate precedent. In the end, the design became a forced marriage of Thornton's exterior (a Georgian building with Corinthian columns) and Hallet's interior. This was the origin of the 2nd floor becoming the building's main floor (a “radical and incurable fault" –Latrobe), a situation that would not be elegantly resolved until the addition of porticoes and grand staircases, as well as the central Rotunda, all many years later.

Nonetheless, work began in July of 1793 and the cornerstone was laid with great ceremony by President Washington in September of that year.

Revision and Expansion

Work on The Capitol proceeded apace and Congress and the Supreme Court took up residence in the new building, as planned, in 1800. However, not as planned, only the North wing had been built out and even that was not fully completed. By 1802 the Commission was disbanded and then President Jefferson appointed Thomas Munroe to be the city's administrator. One year later, Jefferson invited Benjamin Latrobe to become “surveyor of the public buildings,” and new commissioners were installed. Latrobe's tenure was remarkable not only for his designs but because it encapsulated and illustrated trends that would continue in one form or another for the next 200 years. 

• Criticism
Just as Hallet had found Thornton's design wanting, Thornton criticized Latrobe, Latrobe faulted Hallet, Bulfinch found fault with Latrobe's work, and so on. Unfortunately, much of this was played out in public and no doubt distracted from the work at hand.

• Conflict
John Lenthall, the "Clerk of the Works" or construction foreman for Latrobe, often substituted his judgment for Latrobe's expertise, changing materials (e.g., timbers rather than brick for arches) and designs at will. The commissioners were constantly requiring Latrobe to travel to evaluate and select new marble and making their own design changes. In much the same fashion, Architect Thomas U. Walter would later battle Montgomery C. Meigs, the "engineer in charge," over cost, design, and more.

• Mixed Styles
Reflecting multiple designs, changing tastes, and different uses of spaces, The Capitol contains nearly every classical architectural order, and yet remains a dignified and unified whole. Doric columns can be found in the Crypt and the Old Supreme Court Chamber, Ionic in the Old Senate Chamber, Corinthian in the Hall of Columns, the Small Senate Rotunda, the East Vestibule, and the east and west fronts. The composite order can be found there in the Old House Chamber, containing Jefferson-requested Corinthian columns topped by Latrobe-favored Roman entablature. And even the Tuscan order was present in the form of four Capitol gatehouses, two of which now survive in President's Park, about a mile and a half west on the National Mall.

• New Use
The House, Senate, and the Supreme Court have each occupied at least two different rooms within The Capitol itself, and additional spaces outside. As the number of states and the nation's population continued to grow, both the House and the Senate required more space in which to conduct their debates.

• Repairs
Between fires (1826 and 1851), wars, and natural deterioration, The Capitol has been in a near constant state of repair. By 1802, just two years after Congress took up residence in the new Capitol, Latrobe reported finding dry rot in supporting timbers, leaking roofs, and leaking skylights, among other problems. And Latrobe and his successors would deal with complaints about acoustics, lighting, and temperature, all of which arose from design decisions that they and their predecessors had made.

• Economy Versus Permanence and Beauty
The architects who designed The Capitol understandably wanted it built using the finest and most permanent materials available. In the original Senate chamber and The White House the preference was for marble columns, but they were deemed too expensive and were instead constructed of wood covered in plaster, supporting plaster, not carved stone, capitals. Even during World War II, when the ceiling of the Senate chamber was in danger of collapse, it was thought too expensive (or too unseemly during a time of war and privation) to repair it. In both instances, and many others, the better materials were eventually used and the repairs effected. Bringing The Capitol to its present state was a long and interrupted process. Even today, the Architect of The Capitol employs more than 2,400 people to preserve and maintain The Capitol in a pristine working state.

Conclusion

In the following chapters you'll see how these stories played out against the backdrop of America's rise to prominence and how The Capitol became a symbol of freedom and democracy admired around the world. You'll see how The Capitol's architecture expressed beliefs and chronicled struggles, and how, ultimately, it succeeded beyond any of the Founders' visions.

Did You Know?

1. At the time of The Capitol design competition, there were no domes atop public buildings in America. Most state capitol buildings had towers instead, like Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Jefferson's home (Monticello) was the first private residence in the country to have a dome.

2. A three-year restoration of The Capitol's dome and Rotunda was completed October 27, 2016. The cast-iron dome had over 1,000 cracks and significant rust and breakage. The entire structure was stripped of old paint and thoroughly repaired. It was then repainted, with three coats, using 1,215 gallons of paint and primer.

3. There is a full-sized replica of the U.S. Capitol in Wuhan, China. It was never completed and today houses a driving school.

4. In 1787, as bathing came into fashion, Carrera marble bathtubs were installed in The Capitol for Senators and tin tubs for Members of the House. Located on the basement (1st) level, the tin tubs have all been removed but one of the marble tubs remains.

5. To lend a sense of architectural continuity between the Visitor Center and The Capitol itself, the CVC’s walls are clad in sandstone, meant to evoke the walls of the Rotunda.

Chapter 4
The Rotunda 

 Welcome to the Rotunda

Like the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell, The Capitol dome is recognized around the world as a symbol of America. But within that dome is an equally magnificent space, celebrating our history, declaring our values, and recognizing the contributions of important individuals. It is the U. S. Capitol Rotunda.

Soaring 18 stories tall, the Rotunda sits mid-way between the House and Senate Chambers and directly above the Crypt where George Washington was to have been buried. From side to side and floor to ceiling the Rotunda measures 96 feet across and just over 180 feet high. This vast and impressive space is open year-round and hosts more than 2 million visitors every year 

The Rotunda as we see it now was begun in 1855, replacing an earlier and smaller structure. That first Rotunda was only about half as large, measuring 96' tall by 96' wide and shaped like half a sphere. It was made of copper and wood and designed to look like the Pantheon in Rome. It was lit by a single opening, an oculus or eye, at the very top. Over an 11-year period that spanned the Civil War, the dome was replaced with the cast iron structure we see today, and the Rotunda was rebuilt with sandstone, quarried some 40 miles south of Washington, DC. The oculus was replaced with 36 large windows, circling an upper section, and bathing the interior with natural light.

A Space of Many Uses

 The Rotunda is a must-see stop on all Capitol tours and citizens from across the U. S. and visitors from around the world delight in its many artworks and grand displays. From time to time, Congress makes use of this special space for purposes both solemn and celebratory. Congress reserves its highest recognition for the nation's leaders by the ceremonial lying in state. The caskets of Presidents Lincoln, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Johnson, Reagan, Ford, and Carter, among others, were placed in the center of the Rotunda and watched over by a ceremonial military guard while the public was allowed pass by and pay its respects. Congress has similarly recognized the contributions of extraordinary citizens, such as Rosa Parks, allowing them to lie in honor in the Rotunda.

The Congressional Gold Medal is awarded by both the House and Senate jointly to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the country or humanity. It is the highest civilian recognition made by Congress, on a par with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Traditionally the Gold Medal award ceremony is held in the Rotunda. Recipients have included explorers, inventors, civil rights pioneers, artists, sports figures, humanitarians, and others, from the U. S. and abroad, including the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, Dr. and Mrs. King, Robert Frost, Winston Churchill, Marion Anderson, Nelson Mandela, Dorothy Height, Aung San Suu Kyi, and more than 180 others. And (posthumously) Constantino Brumidi –remember that name and keep reading!

The other uses Congress makes of the Rotunda is for unveiling new statues. Beginning in 1864, Congress asked each state to contribute two statues to The Capitol, each depicting someone with a special connection the state. Today, the 100 statues, the last being Johnny Cash from Arkansas, are dispersed throughout The Capitol complex, in Statuary Hall, the Crypt, the Capitol Visitor Center, and the Rotunda. Newly unveiled statues are typically left in the Rotunda for six months, then moved to another, more permanent location.

Inspire, Memorialize, Share

The Rotunda's designers had other, more lofty goals for this space as well. As expressed in extraordinary artworks, they sought to inspire future generations, memorialize key passages in the country's history, and share a collective respect for our common values. We'll look at five different spaces within the Rotunda to explore these goals further.

• The Apotheosis

Upon entering the Rotunda for the first time, visitors' eyes are immediately and involuntarily drawn up the very top of this room. There they will find a wholly unexpected fresco named The Apotheosis of Washington. (Fresco is a technique where paint is applied directly to wet plaster which draws the color in and locks it in place permanently. It's a difficult skill to master because the paint must be applied before the plaster dries, forcing the artist to work quickly on only one small section at a time.)

The Apotheosis (meaning the rising upward to heaven and being hailed there) is a grand allegory or symbolic story of the nation's founding and a tribute to George Washington. Often called The Father of His County, Washington, who served as Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention, Commander of the Continental Army, and the nation's first President, is shown seated in royal purple robes. On either side are women portraying victory and freedom. Completing the circle are 13 other women, each of whom represents one of the 13 original states. Surrounding this grouping are Roman gods and goddesses depicting War, Science, Marine, Commerce, Mechanics, and Agriculture –all key to the country's initial success. Some of the figures, all painted by Constantino Brumidi (remember him?) are up to 15' tall, in order to be clearly seen from the floor far below.

• The Frieze

Brumidi (1805 – 1880) was an Italian immigrant who devoted 25 years of his life to painting The Capitol. In addition to The Apotheosis (which took 11 months to complete), he painted most of the Rotunda Frieze, countless walls and decorative spaces throughout The Capitol, and even two ceiling scenes in the White House. Two years after starting work at The Capitol, Brumidi became a U. S. citizen.

Directly beneath the Rotunda's row of tall windows is a band of historical scenes that appear to be carved from stone. In fact, they, too, are frescos painted by Brumidi and others, but this time using different technique (trope l'oeil) meant to fool the eye of the viewer into thinking that the figures are all three-dimensional.

Brumidi planned and sketched 16 scenes for the Frieze. The first was another allegory; America as a woman, standing between an Indian maiden and history. The last was to be the discovery of gold in California. Before his death, Brumidi completed only eight of the scenes, leaving Filippo Costaggini to complete the last eight. Unfortunately, Brumidi and Costaggini had miscalculated and with 16 panels completed there remained a gap of some 31 feet. Congress then authorized Allyn Cox (not Costaggini who had sought the commission) to paint three additional scenes showing the end of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and the Wright brothers mastering flight at Kitty Hawk. In all, it took 75 years to complete the Frieze.

• The Eight Paintings

Encircling the base of the Rotunda are eight, massive oil paintings, each 12 feet high by 18 feet wide and inset into the Rotunda walls. So iconic are these paintings that you may well have seen one or more in your history books. The paintings were done on canvas which was then adhered to the curved Rotunda walls and surrounded by decorative frames.

The artist John Trumbull (1756 – 1843) was commissioned to paint four scenes from the nation's founding: The Signing of The Declaration of Independence, The Surrender of General Burgoyne, The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, andGeneral George Washington Resigning His Commission. Though Trumbull imagined the poses, he took great care to depict each individual in the scenes, all of whom can be identified by name. Painted years after the events, each of these scenes is idealized and structured to be easily understood by the viewer. Trumbull's masterworks have become iconic representations of our history.

Though Trumbull had hoped to paint the remaining four pictures, they were instead commissioned from four other artists: The Discovery of the Mississippi by William H. Powell, The Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn, The Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Weir, and The Baptism of Pocahontas by John Chapman.

Surrounding all eight paintings are stunning gold frames, the vertical sides of which are fasces, Roman symbols of multiple rods lashed together to form a stronger whole; an apt metaphor of strength coming from unity, just as the 13 states found strength in federation.

• The Statues

Interspersed among the paintings are nine statues (donated by the states) and two busts. Eight of the statues represent American presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson, Garfield, Eisenhower, Ford, and Reagan) while the ninth is of Alexander Hamilton, who served as the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury. (Notice that Washington rests his left arm upon a face.) One of the busts is of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commissioned by Congress, while the other shows suffragettes Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. The carving of this last is deliberately unfinished, suggesting the work remaining for full recognition of women.

• Sandstone Carvings
Above the paintings and below the Frieze are several bas-relief stone carvings. Four show silhouette poses of early explorers John Cabot, Christopher Columbus, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sieur de La Salle. Two square carvings illustrate The Preservation of Captain John Smith by Pocahontas, and The Landing of the Pilgrims. Two additional, rectangular carvings show scenes of war and peace:  The Conflict of Daniel Boone and the Indians and William Penn's Treaty with the Indians. And unlike The Apotheosis and the Frieze, all of these four actually are three-dimensional.

Did You Know?

1. George Washington's likeness appears seven times in the Rotunda, more than any other person: once in the Frieze, as a statue, four times in Trumbull's paintings, and once in the ceiling Apotheosis. Can you find them all? Jefferson is second, appearing once in the Frieze, once as a statue, and twice in paintings.

2. The volume of the Rotunda is roughly 1.3 million cubic feet. That means it could hold the water from nearly 15 Olympic size pools or more than 2.6 million basketballs.

3. On the other side of the Rotunda, there is enough space between the inner wall and the outer wall of the Dome to hold electrical and ventilation equipment, as well as a 300+ step walkway leading all the way up and out to the base of the Freedom statue.

4. The sandstone walls, from the floor up to the Frieze, were originally painted white, thereby hiding the variations in stone color and the rusty-looking streaks. After a 1905 restoration, however, it was decided to leave the stones unpainted. Do you agree?

5. After his design was rejected, Filippo Costaggini painted his angry face into the Frieze at the base of the tree that stands between The Death of Tecumseh and The American Army Entering the City of Mexico.

6. In addition to his work in the Rotunda, Brumidi decorated Capitol corridors with American historical scenes, but he left several spaces blank and unfinished, believing that America would have many more accomplishments in the years to come. One of those spaces has now been filled with a painting of Americans standing on the Moon.

7. At first blush, Trumbull's painting of George Washington Resigning His Commission might seem an odd or insignificant subject for a Rotunda painting, but it was in fact yet one more symbolic representation; this one indicting that the government is based on civilian and not military rule.

Chapter 5
National Statuary Hall

 Welcome to National Statuary Hall

National Statuary Hall, included in all Capitol tours, is a truly remarkable space with an equally remarkable history. Seen today, it is perhaps the brightest and most inviting room in The Capitol. There you will find 35 statues, part of a much larger collection, each with an intriguing story.

In 1864, Congress gave the hall its present name and invited each state "…to provide and furnish statues, in marble or bronze, not exceeding two in number for each State, of deceased persons who have been citizens thereof, and illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services such as each State may deem to be worthy of this national commemoration…" And after much debate and some compromise, in 2012 Washington, DC was invited to contribute one statue –but only to the Congressional joint art collection, not the Statuary Hall collection. The District had hoped to place two statues in The Capitol and commissioned works depicting Frederick Douglas and Pierre L'Enfant. Douglas's statue now resides at The Capitol Visitor Center; L'Enfant's waits a half-mile away in the lobby of an official District office building at One Judiciary Square.

Among the collection, you'll find statues of five Presidents: Washington, Jackson, Garfield, Eisenhower, Ford, and Reagan.

Placing all 100 statues in Statuary Hall would have severely crowded the space and made it difficult to appreciate these works of art. In addition, the collected weight of all that marble and bronze might exceed the capacity of the Hall's floor. As a consequence, the remaining 65 statues can be found displayed throughout The Capitol, in the Crypt, the Hall of Columns, and elsewhere, including The Capitol Visitor Center. From time to time, at the direction of Congress, the statues are moved to different locations. The last rearrangement took place in 2008.

History

Like many other spaces in The Capitol, the Hall's appearance and use have changed over time. Accidental fires, purpose-lit fires by the British during the War of 1812, replacement of deteriorating materials, evolving architectural styles and preferences, and an ever-growing number of members of Congress have all been forces driving reuse and renovation. Since arriving in Washington in 1800, the House had been meeting in a room originally intended to House the Library of Congress. For a number of reasons, only the Senate or north wing of The Capitol was habitable by the turn of the century and while the Senate was able to convene in its own chamber, the House had to make do.

Benjamin Henry Latrobe was invited by President Jefferson to design the House or south wing of The Capitol. Both classically trained and educated in the classics, Latrobe took much of his inspiration for the new Capitol from his earlier travels to Paris and Italy as well as his work in London. His neoclassical style fit well with Jefferson's tastes; the President prized his copy of Palladio's Four Books on Architecture. Not surprisingly then, Latrobe's design for the House chamber (later Statuary Hall) was a grand, classical statement. Two stories tall, with a coffered ceiling and stately columns, it took its elliptical shape from Roman amphitheaters. It had very roughly the appearance of a quarter of a sphere. As stunning as this was, it was soon apparent that the elliptical shape, while well-suited to projecting actors' voices outward to an audience also made those same voices echo incomprehensibly on the "stage" itself. (Years later, when the echoes persisted, then Architect of The Capitol William Thornton suggested woolen cloth, dipped in arsenic to discourage moths, be hung across the fronts of the chamber's galleries.)

By 1807 the House's chamber was finally ready and the body moved from the library to the Hall, where they stayed until 1857, except for a five-year period when it was being repaired and rebuilt following the intentional burning by the British.

The Hall as we see it today was restored to its 1823 appearance in time for the 1976 Bi-Centennial celebrations. To appreciate what it must have looked like when in use by the House, we have an 1822 painting called Night Session in the House by Samuel F. B. Morse, the very same Morse who invented Morse Code and demonstrated his telegraph machine by sending a message from The Capitol Rotunda to Baltimore 22 years later. The painting, which today hangs just down the Mall in the National Gallery, shows Members desks arranged in semicircles around the Speaker's dais, an elaborate chandelier being lit to illuminate the room, and yards of red drapery hung all along the curved back wall.

Key Features

In the Hall are two spots (the foci of an ellipse) where sound plays a funny trick. Stand at one of these points and whisper. You will clearly be heard by anyone standing at the opposite point, no matter the noise and conversations taking place everywhere else. It's a favorite Washington myth that when he served in the House, John Adams would position his desk above one spot and pretend to fall asleep while all the while eavesdropping on members of the other party huddled over the other spot discussing their tactics. Part of what makes the whispering trick work today is the shape of the ceiling, which was much changed in Adams' day.

Throughout the room you'll find small, square, brass floor markers indicating the locations of the desks of House members who later became president. Markers can be found for Abraham Lincoln, John Quincy Adams, James Buchanan, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, James Polk, and John Tyler.

Artwork

In addition to the Hall's statues, the artwork that garners the most attention is the marble carving set directly above the doorway opposite to where the Speaker would have sat. It's called The Car of History and was sketched and commissioned by Latrobe. It shows Clio, the muse of history (one of the nine muses) standing in a chariot rolling over signs of the Zodiac emblazoned on a globe, signifying the passage of time. George Washington's profile can be seen on the chariot as well as an angel blowing a horn to trumpet his fame. Clio gazes into the chamber and in her left arm rests an open book in which she appears to be recording to House proceeding for history. On the side of the chariot is a large clock, still wound from behind every Monday, to impress the members of the passage of time. On the opposite wall, in the niche and directly above where the Speaker would have sat, is the plaster statue called Liberty and The Eagle. In her outstretched right hand she holds The Constitution, guarded by the eagle. To her left is a snake, signifying wisdom, wrapped around fasces, representing the United States. A similar snake-and-fasces motif is found on the silver inkwell, in the present House chamber, on the Speaker's desk.

Other Uses

Every four years the Hall plays host to the Inaugural Luncheon. After the swearing-in ceremonies and the departures of the former President and Vice President, the newly-elected President and Vice President, their families, Congressional leaders, and members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies adjourn to the Hall for a lunch and additional ceremonies. While similar Inaugural Luncheons have been held elsewhere, the tradition of using Statuary Hall began in 1981 with the inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

Although his portrait hangs in the current House chamber, when Lafayette returned to America and addressed a joint session of Congress, he did so in the Old House Chamber. The new chamber had yet to be built at the time of his visit.

Four presidents were inaugurated in the Hall: James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Millar Fillmore. A fifth, John Quincy Adams, was not only inaugurated here but was actually selected here by the House of Representatives in 1824, after neither he nor any of his four opponents received the necessary majority of electoral votes. After his presidency, Adams served in the House for 17 years and in 1848 suffered a stroke while seated at his desk in the Old House Chamber. He was moved to the Rotunda and then the Speaker's rooms, where he died two days later.

Did You Know?

1. Other members of House who later became President, but did not serve their tenure in what is now Statuary Hall, were: George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, William McKinley, James Garfield, and Rutherford B. Hayes. William Henry Harrison served in the House during that time (1816-1819) and later became President, but that was when the Hall was being rebuilt after the war. Andrew Jackson and James Madison served in House before the House was in Statuary Hall. John Quincy Adams served in the House after having been President.

2. In Morse's painting sharp-eyed observers can find the Car of History, Morse's father, and Pawnee Indian chief Petalasharo. 

3. Clio, the Muse of History in the Car of History, was modeled on the sculptor's daughter. And if you look closely; you'll see there is actually no pen or quill in her writing hand and no words on the book's pages.

4. Though the room presents a harmonious appearance, it's materials came from many sources. The columns of Breccia marble came from along the Potomac River, but the columns' white capitals were carved from stone brought from Carrera, Italy. The black floor tiles came from Philadelphia while the white tiles were sawed from a block of Italian marble left over from the recent Capitol extension project.

5. Since 2000, states have been permitted to replace statues previously donated to the Collection. To date, there have been 13 statue exchanges, with three more pending.

Chapter 6
The Senate Chamber

 Welcome to the Senate Chamber

Just like the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate conducted business for its first 11 years at locations outside Washington, DC. From March 4, 1789, through September 29, 1789, and later from January 4, 1790, through August 12, 1790, both Houses met at Federal Hall in New York City. Then from January 4, 1790, through August 12, 1790, the Senate and House were located at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, next door to Independence Hall where The Declaration and The Constitution were adopted. There the House met on the first floor, the Senate on the second. Both chambers have been restored to their appearance in 1796, and 28 of the 32 desks in the Senate chamber are originals from that time.

The First Two Senate Chambers in The Capitol

When the seat of government moved to Washington, DC in 1800, the Senate occupied the space in The Capitol now known as the Old Senate Chamber. This two-story, semi-elliptical room is smaller but similar in design to National Statuary Hall on the other side of the Rotunda. But as early as 1805, plaster was falling from the wooden-lathed ceiling and cracks appeared in the wooden columns ringing the chamber.

 Benjamin Latrobe, who had been appointed The Capitol's architect by President Jefferson, was charged with completing the south or House wing of The Capitol. While pursuing this work, Latrobe soon discovered the extent of deterioration in the north wing, including rotting floorboards and supporting timbers, as well as the precarious ceiling. Latrobe drew up plans that not only restored the north wing to safe use but radically transformed it as well. Insisting on using the best materials available and replacing wood with stone, his plan was, in effect, to move the entire Senate chamber up one floor so it would occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building (to then be on a par with the new House chamber) and to transform the 1st floor space into a chamber for the Supreme Court.

 To realize his design without tearing down the outer, stone walls of the north wing, Latrobe ingeniously designed what was effectively a building within a building. His new interior columns supported the two new chambers without transferring any of the load to the existing walls.

 But the year1808 saw a serious setback. Latrobe had appointed John Lenthall "Clerk of the Works," essentially the construction foreman. Lenthall substituted his own design for the arches supporting the ceiling of the new Supreme Court space with tragic result. Upon removing the bracing beneath those new vaults, the ceiling collapsed. All of the workers except Lenthall escaped, whose body was recovered days later. Remarkably, the Senate chamber above remained intact and the Supreme Court's ceiling was soon rebuilt per Latrobe's original design.

 In 1810 both the Senate and the Court occupied their new chambers, where both would remain until 1859. After the British set it afire on August 24, 1914, The Capitol lay in ruins and was unsuitable for use by either the House or the Senate. For the remainder of the year, Congress met at Blodgett's Hotel nearby, moving from 1815-1919 to a Latrobe-designed annex to Long's Tavern. This temporary site became known as The Brick Capitol.

 Even before the war, Latrobe had been told how cramped the Senate chamber had become, due to the growing number of states admitted to the union and therefore growing number of Senators. So he then took advantage of the necessary rebuilding to enlarge the chamber, outfit it more grandly, and provide more space in viewing galleries. Central to Latrobe's plans were a number of full- and half-height marble columns and study, brick vaults finished in plaster overarching both chambers. The columns were procured from marble veins in nearby Maryland, but the process of removing the stone, transporting it to The Capitol, and carving and polishing it on site was beset by delays and difficulties that would eventually outlast Latrobe's tenure as The Capitol's architect. And Latrobe's brick vaulting was rejected in favor of timber, which would be cheaper and hasten the completion of the rooms.

By his own admission, Latrobe was not always the easiest person with whom to get along, and by 1817 the combination of his temperament and a number of events joined to push him to the edge. He had just received word of his son's untimely death, was in danger of insolvency, was still smarting over President Monroe's direction to use timber vaults, and was constantly opposed by those who wanted to change his plans without the knowledge to understand them. His pride got the better of him and he exploded in an angry outburst against the Commissioner overseeing his work, all in the presence of the President. He resigned that very day.

When the columns were finally installed and the two chambers completed and restored, it was under the eye of the new architect, Charles Bulfinch of Boston. Bulfinch thought Latrobe's design was too constrained, and in an effort to add more elegance to the chambers, outfitted them with crimson drapery and brass lighting fixture. The rooms as they looked then are much like we see them today.

In 1976, celebrating the nation's Bi-Centennial, the Senate chamber was restored to its 1850s appearance and is today referred to as the Old Senate Chamber. The room is open to the public but on rare occasions is reserved for the Senate when they require a space in which to meet that affords a more collegial and less formal atmosphere. When the Senate moved to its present chamber, the Supreme Court moved upstairs to the Senate's old quarters and remained there until 1935, when a separate Supreme Court building was completed, east of The Capitol. The Court's first floor room has also been restored (to its 1854 appearance), and it, too, is open to the public.

The Current Chamber

On January 4, 1859, the Senate met for one last time in its old chamber and then ceremonially walked into its new chamber. The new space was rectangular, though at one point it had been proposed to model it on the room now known as Statuary Hall, bringing with it the persistent problem of poor acoustics. And it was windowless, a condition many Senators would publicly regret over the coming years until air conditioning was introduced in 1920. The room also had a glass roof, richly and allegorically decorated. An inspection in 1938 determined that the roof had become structurally unsound and at the end of the session in 1940, the Senate moved temporarily back into its old chamber. Because the war was still being prosecuted, the Senate opted at that time to simply reinforce the ceiling with a truss work of steel beams. In 1949 the chamber was roofed over, preventing falling rain from hitting the glass and making it impossible to hear. The ceiling was replaced and is now artificially lit. In 1950 the rest of the chamber was remodeled.

The remodeling served as an opportunity to change the appearance of the room, making it less Victorian, more modern and spare. The wooden rostrum, however, was replaced with a marble one, the exact opposite of what the House had done earlier.

There are no paintings or portraits in the chamber, unlike those that flank the Speaker's chair in the House. But, as the Vice President serves as the President of the Senate, the gallery above is ringed with 20 busts of past Vice Presidents; 26 others are displayed throughout the Senate wing. Each of these Vice Presidents served as Presidents of the Senate.

Senate Desks

Unlike the House, each Senator is assigned one of the desks in the chamber and these hold great importance to the members and historical significance to the institution. Of the 100 mahogany desks and chairs in the chamber today, 64 were brought in 1859 from the old chamber and are still in use today. Those include the prized desks of Daniel Webster and Jefferson Davis. In one tradition that seems at odds with the formality and ornamentation of The Capitol, Senators use penknives to carve their names inside the desk drawers. This practice arose sometime around 1900 and continues today. The feet on either side of the desks are wrapped in vented, metal sheathing, a reminder of an earlier and quite elaborate heating and cooling system that pushed air up from below the Senate floor. At one point air was actually blown across large blocks of ice and then sent up into the chamber during hot summer months. And about that persistent acoustics problem, each desk is now discretely fitted with a small speaker and microphone, making sure every Senator can be heard by his or her colleagues.

Did You Know?

1. Beginning sometime in the early 1800s the Senate kept an urn of snuff on the Vice President's desk. The custom at the time was to take a small pinch of snuff (powdered tobacco) and rapidly inhale it through the nose. In 1849/1850 the urn was replaced by two small, Japanese, lacquered boxes. Today those same boxes are affixed to either side of the Senate's rostrum, and in a nod to tradition, they are still kept filled with snuff.

2. Imagine not being able to use a cell phone, tablet, and laptop at your place of work. None of these devices are allowed on the Senate floor. Such a ban, it is hoped, will preserve decorum and encourage Senators to engage more directly with each other.

3. While the chamber is elegantly designed and decorated throughout, it is somewhat surprising to see that the Senate's gavel is small, fairly plain, and looks nothing like the hammer-style gavel of the House of Representatives. Used to open and close sessions and call the members to order, the gavel is an hour-glass shaped piece of carved ivory, just over two and a half inches tall. It was a 1954 gift from the government of India, replacing a broken original.

4. Congress, in a Joint Session, actually returned to Federal Hall for one day on September 6, 2002, as a show of support for New York City, one year after the 9/11Trade Center attacks.

5. The curved outer wall of National Statuary Hall is elliptical, whose two foci are the locations of the whispering spots. Though the Old Senate Chamber is semi-elliptical, it, too, has foci that mark its own, little known, whispering spots.

6. Busts of the vice presidents are commissioned after their tenure of service. Still to be sculpted and placed in the Senate wing are busts of Joe Biden (2009-2017), Mike Pence (2017-2021), and Kamala Harris (2021-2025.

Chapter 7
The House Chamber 

Welcome to the House Chamber

So central is it to our representative democracy, that establishing the U.S. House of Representatives, one of two bodies in the Congress, was the very first task of The Constitution. And in line with its closer association with the country's citizens, the Founders provided that "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives…" If money was to be spent, then that act should be supported by the people. With that exception and concurring in treaties and confirming presidential nominees, in all other respects the House and Senate are equal partners of the legislative branch of our government.

Evolution of a Meeting Space

While meeting in New York City, the temporary capital of the new nation, Congress passed the Residence Act, establishing a permanent capital and requiring that a Capitol building be completed and ready for Congress to occupy by December 1, 1800. However, due to an inability to secure materials and cost overruns, it was decided to put all effort into completion of just the north wing (now the Senate wing). Into that portion of The Capitol, probably less than a quarter of the full Capitol's present size, moved the House, Senate, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress on November 17, 1800. One month later, on December 16, the House convened its first session in the new Capitol, its 106 members meeting in the library.

By the next year, a temporary structure was erected for the House, located to the south of the main building and connected to it by a wooden walkway. It was octagonal in shape, reminding some of a Dutch oven. And for that reason and its poor ventilation, it was soon dubbed ‘The Oven.’ In 1804, the oven was torn down to make way for architect Benjamin Latrobe's newly-designed south wing, with the House retuning to the library for its meetings, where it had to accommodate 36 additional members since last occupying that space.

By 1807 the south wing was complete and on October 26 of that year the House convened in its new quarters. The chamber was located in what we today know as Statuary Hall. Though praised for its beauty, it had two major drawbacks; it was exceedingly difficult for members to hear the debates taking place among them, and the multiple skylights often made the space exceedingly bright. Latrobe dampened echoes by hanging drapery nearly 20 feet long between the columns. The matter of lighting would be addressed later. One of the casualties of the War of 1812 was The Capitol itself. The British had been intent and methodical in their attempts to burn the building down. In the House chamber they shot missiles up through the skylights, hoping that falling sparks and embers would ignite the roof. When it did not, soldiers were sent up to the roof, reporting that in fact it was not made of wood, but instead sheathed in metal. Frustrated, the British then piled all of the furnishings together, smeared them with gunpowder paste, and lit them afire. The damage was devastating; the heat of the fire was so intense that the skylight glass actually melted. After several years meeting in the Brick Capitol, a cramped building across the street, the House returned to a restored chamber, which, unfortunately, still suffered from poor acoustics.

By 1857 the House moved into its new chamber, located where we see it today. By 1864, the then-abandoned old House chamber was designated National Statuary Hall. A new floor was laid and a new ceiling built, turning the space into something close to what we see today.

Nearly 90 years passed without major renovations to the chamber until it was discovered that the aging space had serious structural problems. Throughout the 1940s and especially during WW-II, it was thought imprudent to spend extraordinary sums on rebuilding the chamber, so instead large steel I-beams were raised around the walls, supporting a lattice of beams holding up the ceiling.

During 1949-1950, the House decamped temporarily to the Ways and Means committee room in the Longworth House Office Building, while repairs and redecoration brought the Representatives' hall close to its present condition.

Musical Chairs – And Desks

The desks and chairs used by members of the House over the years reveal much about the growth and changing aesthetic of the country.

From the start, members of the House had assigned desks, much like the Senate does today. But the size of the two chambers, relative to the number of members in each, clearly argued for a change in the seating. Today the House chamber is roughly a quarter larger than the Senate (12,927 square feet vs. 9,040 square feet) but has more than four times as many members. Despite their elaborate appearance and symbolic carvings, the House desks were more than just ceremonial pieces; they were intended for actual work, containing a drawer, a shelf, and in some cases, an inkwell. Until the opening of the Cannon House Office Building in 1908, the desks were quite literally the offices of the Representatives.

One of the reasons for changing quarters so often was to accommodate the growing number or Representatives, due both to the continuing increase in the number of states and a similar increase in the U.S. population. When the House first convened, in 1789, there were 60 members and a total population of fewer than 4 million. The number of Representatives continued to grow until 1913 when it hit 435, where it is today. In 1959, when both the states of Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union, the number was increased to 437, though it later returned to 435 in 1963.

Today, there is actually some room for growth; the House chamber itself now has 448 bench seats. Six of those additional 13 seats are occupied by non-voting members representing the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

And it's interesting to note that the one and only time George Washington publicly expressed an opinion during the Constitutional Convention was to suggest that the ideal ratio for the House would be one member for every 30,000 persons. If that rule of thumb were followed today, the House would have some 11,163 members, more than 25 times its current size and clearly an unmanageable number for debates and persuasive discourse. Conversely, each Representative today, on average, has roughly 770,000 constituents.

Between 1857-1873, there were 262 oak desks and chairs, between1873-1901 the House had 304 smaller and less ornate oak desks, between 1901-1950 even smaller desks were placed side-to-side, forming consecutive arcs around the well. And since then, desks have vanished, replaced by bench-style seating with armrests separating each occupant. Owing to its larger size and bench rather than desk seating, the House chamber is used for Joint Sessions of Congress, including State of the Union addresses. But even then, extra chairs have to be brought in to accommodate members of the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president's cabinet, the diplomatic corps, and more. At these moments it truly is a full House.

Inside the Chamber

As in the Senate, and throughout The Capitol, the House chamber contains a number of objects of singular beauty and symbolic importance.

 • The Mace
One of the more distinctive items in the House chamber is the mace, a traditional symbol used by many legislative bodies to represent the duties of the Sargent at Arms. Composed of thirteen ebony rods, one for each of the original colonies, it is bound by silver straps, and topped by a silver globe and eagle with spread wings. That bundle is called a fasces. (On either side of the flag behind the Speaker's chair you can see two other representations of fasces, yet more symbols of e pluribus unum.) When the House is in session, the mace is stood upright on a green marble pedestal to the Speaker's right. It is moved to a different and lower pedestal when the House is meeting as a Committee of the Whole, under different rules. Additionally, the mace can be held before the members as a prompt to restore order, though there is no recorded case of the mace ever having been used in this manner. The original mace was destroyed when the British burned The Capitol and was replaced with the current version in 1842.

 • Portraits
On either side of the Speaker’s seat are two grand portraits, each measuring slightly larger than 7.5' x 5'. To the Speaker's left is a painting of the Marquis de Lafayette, a staunch supporter of American independence and the first foreign dignitary to address a joint session of Congress. To the Speaker's right is a striking full-length portrait of George Washington. Close by Washington's left hand is a sheathed sword, symbolizing that he had resigned his military appointment and reinforcing, there in the House, the principle of civilian rule.

• Inkstand
Just to the left of the Speaker's podium is a silver inkstand with three crystal inkwells. It first came to the House around 1819 and is the oldest surviving object directly related to the House of Representatives. Emblazoned with eagles, it has legs made of fasces wrapped around by snakes, representing unity and wisdom respectively.

Watching Democracy at Work

Each time a recorded vote is called for in the House, members and visitors to the galleries above can watch the tally's progress in a thoroughly modern way.

Located throughout the chamber on the back of benches are electronic voting machines. First introduced in 1973, the small wooden boxes have a slot into which a member inserts a credit card-sized ID and then pushes one of three colored buttons, indicating, Yea, Nay, or Pres(ent). Every member's vote is shown next to his name on four large screens behind the Speaker's rostrum and above the press gallery. Two additional displays show the running totals and the time remaining for the vote. When a vote is not in progress these screens appear only as brocaded cloth panels, visually in line with the restrained Federalist décor of the chamber.

Did You Know?

1. In 1916, four years before the XIX Amendment to The Constitution was ratified, giving women the vote, Montana elected Jeannette Rankin to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to serve in the House, and could not have voted in her own election. She served a second term in 1940. Her statue is today located in The Capitol Visitor Center.

2. To minimize confrontations and maintain decorum, members of the House do not address each other, but rather use a form of indirect address, posing all questions to the Speaker. They also do not refer to each other by name, instead using the terms "The Gentlewomen from…" or "The Gentleman from…" and adding in the member's home state.

3. Ringing the gallery above the House floor are 23 white marble portraits of persons who contributed to the concept of the rule of law on which our nation is based. The only two Americans are George Mason, who wrote the Virginia Constitution and Declaration of Rights, and another Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, who drafted The Declaration of Independence.

4. Before delivering a State of the Union, or any other address, to a joint session of Congress, the President must first receive an invitation from the Speaker of the House.

5. On either side of the clock that sits above the Speaker's chair are two cornucopias. Often thought of as symbols of abundance, they are here meant as metaphors for the fruits of liberty that we all enjoy.

Chapter 8
The House Wing

Welcome to the House Wing

Within the House and Senate wings of The Capitol, the bodies' respective chambers occupy only a portion of the full space. On the House side, for example, is National Statuary Hall (the Old House Chamber) and on the Senate side there is both the Old Senate Chamber and the Old Supreme Court Chamber. But beyond these singular and historic rooms, each wing Houses special treasures and a fascinating history.

Many people are surprised to learn that the two wings of The Capitol are not symmetric because from the outside they appear to be mirror-images of each other. The original wings were, in fact, built separately –first the north, or Senate wing, followed by the south, or House wing– though the extensions were built simultaneously, they were required to perform different functions. Recall that in 1800 the north wing had to accommodate the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court, and just two years later the Library of Congress as well. And before there were House and Senate office buildings, all committee hearings were held within The Capitol itself. By design and practice the House had (and still has) more committees than the Senate, dividing its budgetary and oversight functions more finely than the other body, which therefore requires more meeting space. So, both wings were designed to meet different needs. Nonetheless, not counting their present or historical chambers, the three rotundas, etc., both wings contain roughly 240 rooms each.

The Hall of Columns

Running along the north-south centerline of the House wing, and located directly below the House chamber, is the Hall of Columns. What might otherwise have been a simple hallway, connecting meeting rooms and other hallways, was turned into a magnificent and much-admired space by Architect of The Capitol Thomas U. Walter and the Engineer in Charge, Captain M. C. Meigs. The Hall is over 100 feet long and contains 28, marble, Corinthian columns. In keeping with Latrobe's earlier introduction of uniquely American capitals of corncobs, magnolia, and tobacco leaves, the Hall's columns are topped by cast iron capitals designed by Walter, depicting tobacco leaves, thistles, and cotton. Interspersed between the columns are 13 statues from the National Statuary Hall Collection. (One floor above, in the House Connecting Corridor, are another five of the statues from the Collection.)

Though it's hard to imagine, much of the Hall is, and was, a compromise of the original plan. The ceiling was to have been made of marble, as were the column's capitals, but both are actually cast iron, painted to appear as marble. Look closely at the walls of the Hall; they are made of scagliola, a form of imitation marble made from gypsum and glue, the same material originally proposed for the columns of the Old Senate Chamber.

Minton Tiles 

 The floor of the Hall was also intended to be marble, but marble was expensive and in great demand elsewhere in The Capitol, so yet another compromise was made, but this one turned out to be spectacular.

Meigs was thinking of using ceramic tiles for the Hall's floor, but then, as now, the decorative coloring of tiles was typically applied only to the tiles' surface, and under the foot traffic expected in The Capitol they would have quickly been worn away. It was then that Meigs happened upon an ad in an architecture magazine, promoting encaustic tiles made by Minton Hollins & Co. in England. The encaustic process, in contrast, used intricate forms, like cookie-cutters, filled with various colors, so the design was integral to the tile and could not be worn off. After extensive correspondence with Minton and their New York agent, elaborate designs were created and thousands of tiles ordered for the Hall, the 2nd floor corridor, and elsewhere. The installation proceeded for five years (1885-1890), to stunning effect, but once completed, Meigs was worried that the tiles would become covered in mud and snow during the winter months. His solution was to install a number of water spigots and drains recessed into the walls where the tile was used and hidden from view by small doors, no more than about two feet high. That way the tiles could more easily be kept clean. Providing widespread access to water was also hoped to be a fire control measure, following the 1851 fire that destroyed the Library of Congress.

By 1924, however, the tiles were removed from the Hall and the corridor one floor above, and replaced with marble (white from Alabama and black from New York), as originally intended.

Fortunately, a great many of the Minton tiles remain, some in the House wing but particularly in the Senate wing.

The Iron Library

During its tenure within The Capitol, from 1800 until 1900, the Library of Congress suffered three fires, one at the hands of the British in 1814, and two through accidents in 1825 and 1851. The last was particularly devastating, consuming about two-thirds of the library's holdings and a comparable amount of the original Jefferson collection. Also destroyed were Gilbert Stuart paintings of the first five Presidents. And over the years its collections were further compromised, no doubt, by extremes in temperature and humidity, to say nothing of the rising smoke from the Union Army's baking ovens once located below.

Spurred by the 1851 fire, Thomas Walter designed what has come to be known as the iron library, a room so exceptional for its time, that had he not also designed the current Rotunda, the library would be his signature achievement. The room was three-tiers high, and to reduce the possibility of more fires, contained no wood except for furniture, meaning all of the structure as well as the bookcases themselves were made of cast iron. Most daring, though, Walter designed the first cast iron roof in America, supporting eight massive skylights. To that Walter added $12,000 of gold leaf, bronzing, and gold paint to transform the space from what might have looked more like a railroad trestle into a bright and dazzling reading room. Work was completed on July 1, 1853.

After moving to its own building across the east plaza, the Iron Library was torn down in just five weeks and auctioned for scrap. The library had spanned the House-Senate divide in the central part of The Capitol, just to the west of the Rotunda. The space was then quickly converted for use as committee rooms.

Bronze Doors

As befitted a national capitol of such monumental size and form, and as was the prevailing style with marble buildings of prominence, Congress approved the creation and installation of several pairs of bronze doors. Today, three pairs of stately, bronze doors can be found in the House wing, one in the Senate wing. All four owe a debt to the Gates of Paradise doors created by Lorenzo Ghiberti for the Baptistery of Saint John in Florence, Italy. Ghiberti's work was renowned for its exquisite detail and remarkable depth of field, and was generally held as the highest example of the art. The Baptistery doors also set the stylistic standard of multiple, pictorial panels, illustrating evens and people of great importance. All four sets of The Capitol's doors adhere to this approach.

 Perhaps the most famous of The Capitol's doors are the Columbus doors. First installed in 1863, they have been twice moved and now can be seen on the east front of The Capitol. Randolph Rogers was commissioned the design the doors and oversee their casting, which took place in Germany. Rodgers' doors stand 17 feet tall and weigh two tons. Four panels on each door and an arched tympanum above depict significant events in Columbus' life, 16 small statues represent important personages in the Columbus story, as do ten small busts. A riot of small symbols (shields, helmets, anchors, etc.) decorate the bronze doorframe, which also contains four personifications of the continents known in Columbus' day; America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

 The doors were greatly admired by the public, so much so in fact, that remarkably many pried off high relief pieces as souvenirs.

 Sculptor Louis Amateis created another pair of doors, now known as the Amateis doors, in 1908 as a celebration of the fine and applied arts that contributed to America's greatness, as well as 18 individuals who are associated with those achievements. Among those singled out were Founders Jefferson, Franklin, and Madison, as well as poet Edgar Allen Poe, inventor of the steamboat Robert Fulton, and several others. The door's eight panels represent jurisprudence, sciences, fine arts, mining, agriculture, iron and electricity, engineering, and naval architecture and commerce. The transom above shows a figure of America surrounded by allegorical figures of these same arts.

 Like the Columbus doors, the so-called Amateis doors were also moved several times before now standing opposite the Bulfinch stairway in the House wing. Originally intended for the west front of The Capitol, they were instead first displayed at the Corcoran Museum and later lent to the Smithsonian Institution, until finally being installed at The Capitol in 1972. On the east front, two pairs of bronze doors lead into The Capitol on the Rotunda level, one each for the House and the Senate. These doors, designed by Architect of The Capitol Thomas Crawford, are somewhat less ornate than the others but their panels still hold elaborate depictions of American history, mainly showing scenes of George Washington and the Revolutionary War. One charming exception shows Benjamin Franklin seated at a desk in his studio, studying electricity.

Did You Know?

1. The Capitol's intricately and artistically designed floors contain about 1,000 different tile patterns.

 2. At one point, there were actually two libraries in The Capitol; the Library of Congress and the law library of the Supreme Court. And overflow from the Library of Congress was stored in bookcases installed along the gallery of the Old House Chamber or what is now National Statuary Hall.

 3. The scene depicted in the transom above the Amateis doors is titled The Apotheosis of America. This was The Capitol's second apotheosis, following Brumidi's painting in the Rotunda.

 4. Thomas Crawford, who designed the House and Senate bronze doors, also designed the statue of Freedom that adorns the top of the Rotunda.

5. The Amateis or Apotheosis of America Doors, located near the Crypt, were installed against a blank wall and do not open or lead anywhere.

Chapter 9
The Senate Wing

 Welcome to the Senate Wing

Whether a reflection of the House's and Senate's different roles, the character and preferences of its members, or just happenstance, the Senate wing of The Capitol has a very distinct character that clearly sets it apart from that of the House. From a decorative standpoint, the Senate wing benefitted from the work of extraordinary craftsmen and the distinct artistry of Constantino Brumidi.

 Electric Lighting

The House and Senate typically go their own ways in legislative matters, much as the Founders intended, but also in some less weighty matters, too. The introduction of electric lighting is a good example of the latter. Though we think of The Capitol as a single building, now overseen and maintained by the Architect of The Capitol, Members of Congress have seen their respective wings in a much more proprietary light.

 In an 1885 experiment, the Senate allowed the first electric lights to be installed in The Capitol, specifically in its cloakroom. Liking what they saw, or maybe just being able to see, the Senate voted to have electric lights installed throughout its wing of The Capitol. Within three years there were 650 lights in the Senate wing. The House on the other hand was more cautious, agreeing to far fewer lights, and by 1888 had only 200 lights illuminating its wing.

 The impetus for moving to electric light was, in part, due to the scarcity of natural gas. By the late 19th Century there simply was not yet enough gas in Washington to light both the White House and The Capitol simultaneously. When both were being used at once, flickering lights and worse occurred.

 By 1896 both chambers had solved a particularly vexing problem of not having enough light to conduct business either at night or on cloudy days. Before that time, the House and Senate chambers had transparent glass ceilings that allowed sunlight to illuminate their chambers during the day (–sometimes, actually too much sunlight, making it difficult to see and uncomfortably hot–). Now electric lights placed above the glass would provide the proper lighting.

 The switchover from gas to electric lights though was not complete, with some chandeliers and other fixtures featuring both gas and electric lights together. However, a violent explosion on the Senate side in 1898, later determined to have been caused by a faulty gas meter, spurred a move to light The Capitol only with electricity. Today, only one of the gas chandeliers remains in The Capitol, though it has been converted to hold electric light bulbs only. It can be found in the elaborately-decorated President's Room (S-216) in the Senate Wing.

The Brumidi Corridors and Committee Rooms

 Before painting The Apotheosis of Washington and The Frieze of American History in the Rotunda, Constantino Brumidi painted frescoes on either side of The Capitol, though principally on the Senate side. His work mixes allegorical figures and virtues with scenes from American history and native American flora and fauna, including mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and even parrots. For the committee rooms, Brumidi chose subjects related to the Members' work; a likeness of Benjamin Franklin, the country's first Postmaster General, appears over the doorway to the former Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, the battle of Lexington was painted in the room that was then the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and Militia, etc. Brumidi also painted ceremonial spaces, like The President's Room, the Senate Reception Room, and many more.

 Where Brumidi's work is especially admired are the first-floor hallways, known today as the Brumidi Corridors. Here the spaces above doorways, the lunettes, are showcases for American heroes and achievements. Judging correctly that there would be more significant historical events in store for the young nation, Brumidi left several lunettes blank, to be filled in by future artists. Among those painted after Brumidi are scenes of the Wright Brothers' plane and The Spirit of St. Louis. More recently, pictures have been added depicting the 1969 landing on the Moon, and one to commemorate the Challenger shuttle crew.

 Between Brumidi's work, marble, and gilding, these spaces resonate with florid Victorian designs. It can sometimes seem like every inch of these rooms has been decorated, like a precious jewel-box. Adding to the effect are the exceptional Minton tiles, many more of which can now be found in the Senate wing. Along the Brumidi Corridors and the Ohio Clock Corridor (also on the Senate side) are today where most of the remaining Minton tiles can be found. But down on the basement level there are actually some Minton tiles in the room where the remaining marble bathtub sits.

There was a fascinating intersection of history and viewpoints surrounding Brumidi and it puts into context discussions still ongoing today in America. Brumidi's was a classic immigrant's story. He was born in Italy of Greek parents and after arriving in New York in 1852, became a U. S. citizen in 1857. His work, in the Corridors and elsewhere in The Capitol was meant not just for the pleasure and amazement of Americans, but as a national statement to the countries of Europe that America was a nation on par with any of them. At the same time, from 1844-1860 there arose in the U. S. the so-called Know-Nothing party whose nationalistic and anti-immigrant sentiments focused disapproval on any non-native Americans (including Brumidi) working on decorating The Capitol. These tensions between aspiration and privilege, between contribution and exclusion, are yet to be fully resolved.

The President's Room and the Vice President's Ceremonial Office

 The President's Room (S-216) is a wonderful mix of Brumidi's painting and Minton's tiles. The room has been restored to its appearance in the late 1890s and showcases Brumidi frescoes and oil paintings, literally from floor to ceiling. In particular, the walls display individual portraits of the members of George Washington's cabinet. The ceiling holds four allegorical figures representing foundations of government and four likenesses of people central to the nation's history. The President's Room actually had a practical purpose when both the Senate and the President's terms ended on March 3rd, and the President was needed close by the Senate to sign last minute legislation before their terms expired. In this room, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

 Just off the Senate Chamber, the Vice President's Ceremonial Office is infrequently used today, but throughout the 19thCentury it was the only office the Vice President had and was in daily use. (Today, the Vice President has an office in the Old Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.) For that reason, it has no frescoes and is much less ornately decorated than other rooms in the Senate wing, simply because there was no time for artists to work there. Of note, the room contains the Wilson Desk, first used by President Grant's first Vice President, Henry Wilson. Richard Nixon used and admired the desk when he was Vice President and had it moved to the White House when he became President. Returned now to The Capitol, it contains a small hole which held the button used to engage the Oval Office tape recording system.

Did You Know?

1. The chandelier in Senate committee room S-211 came from the White House. Teddy Roosevelt's wife thought it made to much noise (glass clinking) and so it was sold to The Capitol. Jackie Kennedy wanted to bring it back to the White House, but it proved too big and remains in the Senate wing today.

 2. 1927 was the first time anyone attempted to collect and catalog all of the Senate's records, which were scattered in 50 different places in The Capitol, including, just like everyone else, in the building's attic.

 3. The Old Supreme Court Chamber, located in the Senate wing, was lit by candles and gas lamps, and only received a small amount of daylight. It was so dark, and so cold, that the Justices often found reasons to meet elsewhere, like a nearby boarding House or tavern.

 4. The Senate galleries were once segregated by gender and signs above gallery doors still say "Ladies Gallery" and "Gentlemen's Gallery," though these restrictions are no longer enforced.

 5. Senators actually have two offices; one located in one of the three Senate office buildings and one in Capitol, typically on the basement level and often called hideaways.

Chapter 10
The Crypt

Welcome to the Crypt

The room directly below the Rotunda has had many names; the Grand Vestibule, the General Vestibule, the Lower Rotundo (yes, with an "o" as in the Italian), but it is today known simply as the Crypt. Located on the ground floor (the Rotunda actually sits one floor up on the 2nd floor), it has always been a busy passageway for the public and Congressional staff, and today is also a key stop on Capitol tours.

 Its original purpose was simply to provide sufficient support to the planned central dome of The Capitol. And to that end it contains 40 Doric columns connected by a ceiling of groined vaults (the right-angle intersection of two arches). The columns themselves are made of brown stone, the arches above of sandstone. The columns are arranged in two close-by circles of 16 columns each, near the outside of the space, and eight columns also arranged in a circle, but standing nearer the center of the room. The need for this extraordinary weight-bearing capacity can be seen from Architect of The Capitol Charles Bulfinch's estimates for Rotunda building materials: 2 million bricks and 600 tons of sandstone, to say nothing of the timber and copper that would cover the top. Years later, the timber and copper of Bulfinch's dome were replaced with the one we see today, made of nearly 9 million pounds of cast iron. Throughout it all, the Crypt has continued to play its supportive role.

A Changing Space

 The Crypt took six years to build (1820-1826) due to various delays and a priority being given to restoring The Capitol's north wing, so heavily damaged by the British in 1814. The Crypt's first role was to act as a furnace to the massive Rotunda above. Moisture accumulated on the Rotunda's inner walls, threatening Turnbull's newly-installed historical paintings, and in any case the Rotunda was uncomfortably cold for visitors. Two stoves were installed in the Crypt in 1827, with their heat directed to the Rotunda above. But there was a problem. Per the approved design, there was a ten-foot circular opening in the center of the Rotunda floor, intended to let light into the Crypt below. So, while the Crypt was sending heat into the Rotunda from the stoves, it was also allowing cold air to blow upward through the hole and chill the Rotunda at the very same time.

Honoring Washington

 When George Washington died in 1799, the House of Representatives asked his wife, Martha, if the President might be entombed at The Capitol, despite his earlier instructions to be laid to rest at Mt. Vernon, his estate and home. She agreed, with the proviso that she be laid by his side when her time arrived. Following Bulfinch's design, space was prepared one floor beneath the Crypt, in the basement, consisting of an arched and gated alcove. Also planned, but never executed, was a glass floor panel so visitors could gaze downward through the Crypt's floor to the tomb below. But by the time Martha had passed, and The Capitol tomb was complete, Mt. Vernon, and the former President's remains, had passed to John A. Washington, II, the President's great grandnephew, who politely but firmly refused Congress's request.

So how did the Crypt get its name? No one knows for sure, but by 1829 the name was in common use, most likely comparing The Capitol to European cathedrals, whose crypts supported the apses and domes above, as The Capitol's supported the Rotunda and its own dome.

Yet Congress still wanted to honor Washington and so engaged sculptor Horatio Greenough to create a fitting tribute. What they got was not quite what they had expected. When it arrived in 1841, Enthroned Washington stood over 11 feet tall and depicted Washington as a seated Zeus, compete with toga, sandals, and most alarmingly, a naked chest. To position the marble statue in the Rotunda, the hole in the floor was filled in. After withstanding two years of criticism, the statue was moved outside to the east garden and there it remained until 1908 when it was transferred to the Smithsonian. Today, it can be found in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History on the Mall.

 In the interim, the Crypt had once again become a storeroom.

Today

 The Crypt today is an important stop on Capitol tours and the location of both artwork and historical artifacts. Typically, 13 statues from the National Statuary Hall Collection are displayed there, one for each of the 13 original colonies. There you'll find likenesses of Roger Sherman (CT), Caesar Rodney (DE), Crawford Long (GA), Charles Carroll (MD), Samuel Adams (MA), John Start (NH), Richard Stockton (NJ), Robert Livingston (NY), Charles Brantley Aycock (NC), John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (PA), Nathanial Green (RI), and John Caldwell Calhoun (SC). The 13th statue had been that of Robert E. Lee, but that was removed in 2020 and is due to be replaced by one of Barbara Johns of Virginia.

 To these 13, another statue was added in 1979, when a bust of Abraham Lincoln was moved from the Rotunda above. Before arriving at The Capitol, the bust had been displayed in Theodore Roosevelt's White House. Carved by Gutzon Borglum from a six-ton block of marble, it depicts Lincoln four times life size. The right size of his face is shown in realistic detail while the left side is somewhat incomplete and more impressionistic. Borglum said this is how Lincoln appeared to him, but it also represented two sides of Lincoln's character. The seated Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial shows a similar duality, with Lincoln's left hand clenched in a fist and his right draped loosely over the armrest. Borglum was also the principal sculptor of Mt. Rushmore and the Confederacy monument in Stone Mountain, Georgia. And in yet another connection to The Capitol, Borglum created the statues of Alexander Hamilton Stephens (GA) and Zebulon Baird Vance (NC), which can now be seen in Statuary Hall, as well as a statue of John Campbell Greenway (AZ), which had stood in the Hall but was replaced by a statue of Barry Goldwater.

 Inlaid at the very center of the Crypt's floor is an intricate, white marble compass rose of 20 points. Its cardinal directions lay out the precise divisions of Washington, DC into four quadrants, just as Pierre L'Enfant had originally designed the city. This one spot represents the heart of our government and the center of the city in which it resides.

 Other artifacts are displayed in the Crypt, most notably one of the 13 original copies of the Magna Carta, given to the American people by the British parliament in 1976 to celebrate our Bicentennial. It rests in an 800-pound gold-clad, bejeweled case. Dating from 1215, this Great Charter lays out principles later enshrined in our Declaration and Constitution, including the right to a fair trial, the right to secure property, the right not to be arbitrarily arrested or imprisoned. Considering that this is one of only four copies known to exist today, and considering the long history between our two nations, this was a truly extraordinary gift.

 And what of the space in the cellar below that was to be Washington's tomb? For a while it held Lincoln's catafalque, the wooden support used to hold the President's coffin while he lay in state in the Rotunda above. The catafalque today is on display in The Capitol Visitor Center and the tomb space lies gated and empty.

Did You Know?

1. Though Dr. Thornton was no longer The Capitol architect when George Washington took ill, he was still a strong admirer of the first President and rushed to Mt. Vernon when he heard the news. By the time he arrived, Washington was already dead, but Thornton proposed to revive him by performing a tracheotomy and infusing Washington with lamb's blood. The family, wisely, declined and Thornton is remembered now for his architectural prowess and not his unusual medical notions.

 2. For several months in 1861, during the Civil War, soldiers overtook The Capitol and used it as a barracks. Making use of gas lines they found there, the army installed 20 bread-baking ovens in the basement under the western terrace. Flour and other ingredients were piled high in the Crypt, one floor above.

 3. While standing in the Crypt, you may have noticed several full-height windows. These were never intended as views to the outside as both Latrobe's plan and Bulfinch's revision show the Crypt surrounded by other interior space in The Capitol. Perhaps they were meant to give more of an impression of openness to a room filled with 40 columns.

 4. Since Ronald Reagan, Presidential inaugurations are held on the west front of The Capitol, looking down the Mall. Just before emerging from The Capitol to take the oath of office, the President-elect walks through the Crypt.

 5. The Crypt was originally called the “Grand Vestibule” by William Thornton and the “General Vestibule” by Benjamin Latrobe, both recognizing that it was part of a frequently-used pathway across The Capitol. It wasn’t until a 1929 article appeared in the Nashville Republican &State Gazette newspaper that the name Crypt came to be widely used.

Chapter 11
The Capitol Grounds

Welcome to The Capitol Grounds

Given the monumental scale and the symbolic significance of the buildings on Capitol Hill, it's not surprising that the landscaped grounds that surround them receive relatively little public attention. But a closer look reveals a number of pleasant surprises and a design that integrates grounds and structures into a harmonious whole.

Three Hands

As we've seen, The Capitol and the buildings that surround it have been added, grown, and changed in a process that at turns was deliberate and chaotic, driven by everything from the personal preferences of Presidents to fires, war, heating and cooling, convenience, and above all the never-ending need for more space. The Capitol grounds we see today are the result of all of these forces as well as the ideas and force of personality of many people, whose contributions, both large and small, have shaped the constant change and refinement of this public space.

 Three people, however, stand out for their thoughtful contributions and outsized influence: Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Frederick Law Olmstead, and George M. White.

 • L’Enfant
L'Enfant's plan for the city could have been nothing more than a rigorous grid of four quadrants, imposed upon a rough and as yet undeveloped landscape. But the genius of his design was to draw upon his early years and training in Paris, a city dotted with parks, grand avenues, and diagonal streets, and to realize a somewhat more deliberate order in Washington. As he conceived it, the streets named for states slice across the grid and create hundreds of triangular and irregularly shaped islands of greenery. This desire to incorporate parks and green space also led him to conceive of the long expanse we now call the National Mall and to leave a generous open area surrounding The Capitol itself. Of course, siting The Capitol atop Jenkins' Hill was the true masterstroke, not for the views of the city afforded from The Capitol, but more for the views and prominence of The Capitol itself.

 • Olmstead
Olmstead, fresh off his success in designing Central Park in New York City, made lasting contributions to The Capitol grounds. The marble terraces on the east and west fronts of The Capitol were first suggested by Olmstead, who realized that they would integrate the massive building with the surrounding land. The Capitol would not simply sit on the top of a hill, it would seem to be an almost inevitable expression of the landscape. His graceful, elliptical walkways and the profiles of the hundreds of trees and plantings he proposed, are the perfect and calming counterpoint to the rigidly classical and stone-cold exterior of The Capitol. His landscape plans never detracted from The Capitol but added immeasurably to its stature. During the 18 years he worked on The Capitol grounds, Olmstead contributed a stunning number of details, from lighting and fountains to the charming Summerhouse (discussed below). One testament to the durability of Olmstead's vision was how well it withstood the recommendations of the sweeping McMillan Plan, unveiled in 1902. The fact that today The Capitol is not ringed-round with Executive Branch offices may probably be attributed at least in part to a preference for the green space designed by Olmstead.

 • White
The third person to whom The Capitol grounds owe much is George White, Architect of The Capitol from 1971-1975. During his tenure, White oversaw the construction of the Madison and Hart buildings, the restoration of the Old Supreme Court and Old Senate Chambers, and the building of the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judicial Center. The location of the Marshall building owes much to White's foresight. Shortly after taking office, White realized that The Capitol campus had grown rather haphazardly over the years. What was needed was a plan that allowed for expansions and additions, but with some reason behind it. After all, the McMillan Commission had recommended relocating the Supreme Court many blocks to the east of The Capitol and the at one point the Lincoln Memorial was proposed to sit directly to the north of The Capitol. The detailed study White oversaw hoped to put an end to siting by opportunity and instead suggested a more coherent plan. The buildings of the Library of Congress would occupy the area southeast of The Capitol, the judiciary the northeast, with House and Senate office buildings clustering generally to the southwest and northwest respectively. And so it was that the Madison building did not become a House office building, as some had proposed, and the Marshall building enjoyed a placement nearby its judicial neighbor, the Supreme Court.

It was also under George White's term of office that planning began for The Capitol Visitor Center, which would eventually reclaim the east front parking lot and restore both trees and walkways envisioned by Olmstead a century earlier.

Treasures

• The Summerhouse

 Partially hidden by surrounding trees, visitors to The Capitol are surprised to discover the Summer House, designed by Olmstead as a cool retreat during Washington's hot and humid summers and a place to drink from a fountain and water your horse as well. Unlike any other structure on The Hill, the Summerhouse is constructed entirely of bricks, set in intricate patterns. Located to the west of The Capitol on the Senate side, a companion structure for the House side was never built.

• Court of Neptune Fountain

At the front of the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building is a large grotto and fountain containing an oversized bronze sculpture of the sea god Neptune, along with various members of his royal court, including horseback-riding sea nymphs and water-spouting turtles. All were added in 1899, after the building was complete.

 • Taft Memorial and Carillon
Senator Robert Taft, son of former President and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft, is memorialized to the north of The Capitol by a 10-foot statue and a 100- foot carillon. Taft was also honored by having his portrait painted in the Senate Reception Room in 1957, when his likeness and that of four others were added to medallions previously left blank by Brumidi. 

• Trees
There are 890 trees in the immediate area around The Capitol and some 4,300 trees throughout the entire Capitol campus. 65 of those trees were planted at the time Olmstead's plan was realized. Though it may not appear so at first glance, the trees have been planted quite deliberately to obscure some views and dramatically enhance specific sightlines to The Capitol. In addition, a number of memorial trees have been planted on the grounds, most recently including ones for Anne Frank and Emmett Till.

• Ulysses S. Grant Memorial
Located due west of The Capitol, the Grant Memorial is the largest equestrian statue in the U. S. It measures 252 feet long, 71 feet wide, and 44 feet tall. The monument also includes four resting lions at its base and two large relief panels depicting cavalry and artillery groups from the Civil War.

• Senate Parks and Fountain
Stretching from the north side of The Capitol to Union Station are an upper and lower Senate Park, containing a large fountain. Water shoots skyward from several jets, flows down from one tier to another, and most dramatically gushes from the mouths of six menacing lion heads. The parks are a favorite stopping point for tourists during hot, Washington summers.

Conclusion

As L'Enfant planned, as Olmstead implemented, and as White ensured, the grounds throughout the entire Capitol campus are an integral part of this historic and living embodiment of our government. Under the watchful eye of the Architect of The Capitol, the grounds, gardens, statues, and other memorials will serve to remind and inspire lawmakers and visitors alike for many years to come.

Did You Know?

1. As might befit someone working on the grounds of the nation’s legislature, Olmstead’s middle name was actually “Law.” The name came from Olmstead’s uncle, Jonathan Law.

 2. One of the trees planted on the Capitol grounds was a so-called “Moon Tree,” grown from a Sweetgum seed flown aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission which circled the Moon and returned to Earth December 11, 2022.

 3. The number of trees on the entire Capitol campus exceeds 4,300. More than 30 of those were donations from states of their state trees.

 4. When the statue of the toga-clad George Washington was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution 1908, the pedestal remained, a new one having been authorized by Congress. A year later, the old pedestal became the cornerstone for the Capitol power plant, still bearing the original inscription “First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of his Countrymen.”

 5. Two gatehouses built around 1928 originally guarded the west side of The Capitol. Designed by Architect of the Capitol Charles Bulfinch, these small sandstone structures were moved in 1874 to their present locations at 15th and 17th Streets and Constitution Avenue, NW, along the National Mall and are now overseen by the National Park Service.

 
Chapter 12
Capitol Hill

Welcome to Capitol Hill

Until one actually visits, Capitol Hill is usually thought of as simply The Capitol building itself and the surrounding lawns. It is in fact much more. This "campus" is home to two of the country's three branches of government as well as the world-renowned Library of Congress…and more. In all, the campus covers more than 553 acres of grounds and some 17.4 million square feet of buildings. There are 16 structures comprising the Hill: The Capitol itself, of course, and six office buildings, three Library of Congress buildings, two Botanic Gardens structures, the Supreme Court, the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, The Capitol Visitor Center, and a power plant. And there are other facilities located off the Hill as well; e.g., the Botanic Gardens production facility in Anacostia (DC), the Library of Congress' Packard Center in Culpepper, Virginia, etc.

This remarkable complex is under the control of Congress but is overseen and maintained by the Architect of The Capitol.

Architect of The Capitol

Unlike the earlier days when, for example, Dr. Thornton was the sole person overseeing the design and building of the new Capitol, today the office of the Architect of The Capitol employs more than 2,400 people who work around the clock and around the calendar to maintain and restore all of the land and buildings under its purview. Since all of the Hill's facilities are working buildings (as opposed to monuments), and all are open to the public as well, the demand for skilled craftsmen is a constant. Plumbers, painters, sheet metal workers, mechanics, stone carvers, electricians, engineers, gardeners, woodworkers, and many more, maintain the symbols and workplaces of our democracy. The Office also runs The Capitol Visitor Center, hosting millions of visitors every year and providing them with tours and a host of multimedia educational tools.

Though Edward Clark was the first person to have the actual title Architect of The Capitol, there have been 13 people who have acted in that capacity. Several have been mentioned in earlier chapters and have made remarkable contributions to Capitol Hill and our collective pride in the institutions housed there. Dr. Thornton, Benjamin Latrobe, Charles Bulfinch, Thomas Walter, and George White are all worthy of mention again. The previous Architect of The Capitol, Stephen Ayers (2010-2018), oversaw the three-year restoration of The Capitol's dome and Rotunda, completing extensive repairs and repainting of the dome in time for the presidential inauguration.

The Library of Congress

With its move from Philadelphia to Washington, DC in 1800, Congress also established the Library of Congress, appropriating $5,000 to purchase books. Prior to that, Members of Congress had been granted complimentary lending privileges by the Library Company of Philadelphia, established by Benjamin Franklin. Without a similar library in the District, Congress had to create its own. The Library was expected to occupy a second-floor space in The Capitol's north wing, roughly 3/5ths  the size of a basketball court (86' x 35' x 36' tall), but as the south wing was incomplete and the House of Representatives needed a meeting space, the Library was moved to smaller quarters.

Over the years, the Library made experienced setbacks and made advances. The British not only burned the Library's holdings in 1814, but actually used them to fuel fires elsewhere in The Capitol. To recover, Thomas Jefferson sold 6,487 volumes from his own library for $23,900, as the seed for a new Library of Congress. Charles Bulfinch designed a new Library space along the west side of the Rotunda, but it, too, suffered fires in both 1826 and 1851, after which Thomas Walter constructed the remarkable iron library in an effort to foil any more fires.

Passage of the Copyright Act of 1870, which required that the Library receive two copies of every book published, opened a flood gate and the collection soon grew exponentially. Frederick Law Olmstead, and many Members, supported the creation of a new and separate building to House the Library. Other Members, however, were in favor of simply expanding the current Library outward to the west. The debate between these two positions lasted 13 years until Congress finally authorized a new building in 1886.

Eleven years later, the extensively fire-proofed and ornately-decorated Library of Congress opened its doors. The building was a Beaux Arts masterpiece, with a stunning central rotunda and allegorical paintings throughout. Having been designed and built at once, the building was elegantly consistent in a way that The Capitol would never be. It was thereafter named The Jefferson Building in honor of the former President's contribution.

By 1838 an Annex, later named the Adams building, was constructed to hold more of the growing collection. And by 1971 a third building completed –at least for now– the Library's footprint on The Hill. Originally two separate buildings, one a Library addition and one a memorial to James Madison, the two were combined and the building named The Madison Building.

The Library is the largest in the world, holding 175 million items.

The Supreme Court

 Since first moving from Philadelphia, the Supreme Court had been a poor relation to the Senate. Since by 1800 only the Senate wing of The Capitol had been built, though not completed, the Court was shoe-horned into whatever space could be found for it, much like the Library of Congress had to be relocated to provide a chamber for the House of Representatives.

By the early Twentieth Century the Court found its quarters and situation intolerable, with Chief Justice William Howard Taft the principal advocate for securing the Court its own building. Once the idea had gained traction, there was an extended discussion about where to locate it. In general, there was a feeling that the Court should be physically removed from The Capitol, symbolizing the Constitutional separation of the two branches of government. Another consideration was to distance the new building from the recently completed Library of Congress, whose opulent Beaux Arts style would visually overwhelm any neighbor.

A site by the Tidal Basin was proposed and rejected, though it later became the location of the Jefferson Memorial. A site west of The Capitol, down the Mall was proposed, but that, too was rejected as it would have put the Court at a lower elevation than Congress, with all of its attendant symbolism. The architect appointed the design the new building, Cass Gilbert, favored the creation of a new park several blocks to the east of The Capitol, but that would have required razing a good many row houses and delayed the project for years. In the end, the Court actually was placed near the Library of Congress, but instead of suffering by comparison, it probably gained in dignity from a more restrained design aesthetic.

Construction began in 1930 and finished just five years later. Gilbert borrowed motifs employed in The Capitol (Corinthian columns in front with Ionic-styled wings on either side, and Ionic columns in the Great Hall) to great and stately effect. Making use of the topography and elevating the position of the Hall, Gilbert was able to incorporate a wide and high white marble staircase at the entrance, set off by a large courtyard in front. The act of entering the building, where one's pace was deliberately slowed, added to the grandeur and solemnity of the Court.

In some contrast though, visitors to the Court sometimes find the Great Hall chamber itself surprisingly small. This was a deliberate decision by Taft who wanted the Court's hearings to retain some of the intimacy (and presumably collegiality) of their former quarters in The Capitol.

And to bring the Court full circle, Congress restored the Old Supreme Court Chamber to its earlier splendor in 1975, in time for the nation's bicentennial celebrations.

The Botanic Garden

 In 1820, under President Madison, Congress established a five-acre national greenhouse, under the stewardship of the Columbian Institute. Such a garden had been of interest as well to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Despite the Institute's best efforts, the tract fell into disuse and became swampland. By 1850 Congress stepped in and within years provided funds for a greenhouse and garden, putting it all under the control of the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. The garden moved in 1933, construction of new facilities was begun, and the entire operation transferred to the Architect of The Capitol in 1934, where it has remained ever since.

Today, the U. S. Botanic Garden incorporates three buildings; a conservancy with an adjoining greenhouse, an 85,000 square foot production facility in Anacostia, and an administrative building which for a year (1933) had been the home of the Garden's director. All told, the Garden tends to 60,000 plants at the production facility and the three-acre parcel on Capitol Hill, where there are multiple garden spaces, including a rose garden, a water garden, a butterfly garden, and more.

Capitol Tunnels

Below ground and out of sight there are a number of tunnels on Capitol Hill, connecting the buildings there, carrying both books and people.

In 1894 Congress authorized the construction of a tunnel between The Capitol and the Library of Congress, so books could be rapidly transferred between the two buildings. Before the Library of Congress's Jefferson building was constructed, it had been common practice for Members of Congress to send Pages to the library located within The Capitol to find one book or another to be referenced in floor debate. With the books then at a quarter mile remove, the tunnel and a mechanical conveyer were deemed necessary. Additional tunnels sent books between the Jefferson building and the Library's two annexes. With the advent of the internet, the tunnels were no longer a necessity, and the main tunnel was destroyed during construction of the Visitor Center and the two others taken out of service because of frequent breakdowns. A fourth tunnel was built connecting the Library to the Supreme Court.

 Congress, however, wished to move more than just books, and in large measure to avoid Washington's weather, built several tunnels for members to move between their office buildings and The Capitol. In 1909 two tunnels were completed, one to the House's Cannon Office Building and one to the Senate's Russell Building. The Cannon tunnel was built to accommodate both foot traffic and a trolley, but ultimately the House chose to use just the walking portion. The Senate, however, liked the idea of being conveyed, and for several years used specially-built electric Studebaker cars to take them back and forth. Then in 1915 the Senate introduced a monorail that was said to be capable of carrying 12 Senators or, surprisingly, 36 Pages. A retired monorail car can be seen on display in the Russell basement rotunda, and the Russell tunnel was converted to a fallout shelter, recording studio, and mechanical shops. Today, there are Members-only subway cars running from the Dirksen, Hart, and Rayburn Buildings to The Capitol. Other, non-subway tunnels connect the other office buildings.

Part of Capitol Hill is no Longer on Capitol Hill

When The Capitol's east front façade was rebuilt beginning 1958, material from the old front was moved to new locations. Twenty-two of the old front's Corinthian columns were moved to the National Arboretum and erected in a free-standing rectangle near a new reflecting pool. The arrangement is reminiscent of the Temple of Zeus in Athens, and is open to the public.

Other than the columns, a good deal of the sandstone and marble stones that were removed during the construction were moved first to the Capitol power plant, then to a site within Rock Creek Park, and finally, most of them to a storage facility in Maryland. A few remain in the Park. All of this debris remains the property of the Architect of The Capitol, there if possibly ever needed to make repairs.

Did You Know?

1. The Botanic Garden has a rare plant, sometimes called the corpse plant or stinky plant because it gives off an odor of rotting flesh. The Garden has several corpse flowers, which bloom for only two-three days and can grow up to 8’ tall.

2. If you visit the National Arboretum to see the old columns, there you may also want to see the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, containing 53 trees given to the United States by Japan in celebration of the U. S. Bicentennial. One of the trees dates from 1625, well before the nation's founding.

3. The Library of Congress receives about 15,000 new items a day and retains roughly 10,000 of them.

4. Some of the same stone carvers who worked on the Supreme Court also worked on the Washington National Cathedral.

5. The Library of Congress has recreated Jefferson's donated collection in a special room in the Jefferson building. Where they could be located, the Library brought together Jefferson's original volumes; where they could not be found, purchases of copies of the missing volumes were made to replicate the collection. Of the 6,487 volumes donated by Jefferson, replacements for only 297 have yet to be found.

Chapter 13
Learn More

Architect of the Capitol
https://www.aoc.gov

Botanic Garden
https://www.usbg.gov

Capitol Historical Society
https://capitolhistory.org

Capitol Visitor Center
https://www.visitthecapitol.gov

Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov

National Arboretum
https://www.usna.usda.gov

“Residence Act” of 1790
https://guides.loc.gov/residence-act  

Supreme Court
https://www.supremecourt.gov

United States Capitol Historical Society
https://capitolhistory.org

USAGov
https://www.usa.gov/

U. S. House of Representatives
https://www.house.gov

 U. S. Senate
https://www.senate.gov

Visit The Capitol
https://www.visitthecapitol.gov

People

Benjamin Banneker
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/benjamin-banneker

Constantino Brumidi
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/constantino-brumidi
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-103sdoc27/pdf/GPO-CDOC-103sdoc27-10-12.pdf

 Charles Bulfinch
https://www.aoc.gov/about-us/history/architects-of-the-capitol/charles-bulfinch

Filippo Costaggini
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-103sdoc27/pdf/GPO-CDOC-103sdoc27-10-12.pdf

 Allyn Cox
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/allyn-cox

Étienne Sulpice Hallet
https://legacyartusa.com/blogs/the-art-of-history/hallets-vision-the-u-s-capital-between-1793-and-1795

Thomas Jefferson
https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/brief-biography-of-jefferson/

Benjamin Henry Labrobe
https://www.aoc.gov/about-us/history/architects-of-the-capitol/benjamin-henry-latrobe

Pierre Charles L’Enfant
https://www.argomaps.org/people/pierre-charles-l-enfant/

John Lenthall
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0245

Montgomery C. Meigs
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/montgomery-c-meigs

Frederick Law Olmstead, Sr.
https://www.nps.gov/frla/learn/historyculture/flo.htm
https://olmsted.org/frederick-law-olmsted-sr/

Samuel F. B. Morse
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1737.html

Philip Reed
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/statue-freedom/philip-reid
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/07/04/philip-reed-freedom-statue-capitol/
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/philip-reed

William Thornton
https://www.aoc.gov/about-us/history/architects-of-the-capitol/william-thornton

 Alexis de Tocqueville
https://franceintheus.org/spip.php?article586

 Sojourner Truth
https://www.nps.gov/people/sojourner-truth.htm

John Trumbull
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/john-trumbull

Raul Wallenberg
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/raoul-wallenberg-and-the-rescue-of-jews-in-budapest

Thomas Ustick Walter
https://www.aoc.gov/about-us/history/architects-of-the-capitol/thomas-ustick-walter

George Washington
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington

George M. White
https://www.aoc.gov/about-us/history/architects-of-the-capitol/george-m-white

Notes

 Legal

The original draft for this book was produced by Crabtree + Company (now Evergreen Marketing https://evergreenandco.com ) for the Architect of the Capitol. Per Title 17 U. S. Code, Chapter 1, Section 105(a): “Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise,” that draft was not copyright protected. In addition, for all subsequent editing made by me, I am not claiming copyright protection and am making it available to all without cost or restriction.

Images

Cover image of The Capitol and Crypt space for Washington’s tomb (Chapter 10), Creative Commons 2.5. Painting of Alexis de Tocqueville by Theodore Chassériau (Chapter 2), public domain. Samuel Morse painting of the House of Representatives (Chapter 5) ( https://www.nga.gov ). Image of Ruth Bader Ginsburg lying in state from House of Representatives ( https://www.house.gov ). Image of the Senate Chamber (Chapter 6) and the Senate Wing (Chapter 9) from ( https://www.govinfo.gov ). Image of Senate desk from The Senate ( https://www.senate.gov ). Images of the inkstand and mace from The House ( https://history.house.gov/ ). Image of the Iron Library (Chapter 8) from the Library of Congress ( https://loc.gov ). Senate subway (Chapter 12) from ( https://www.senate.gov ). All other images from the Architect of the Capitol ( https://www.aoc.gov ).

Intent

It is my hope and intent that this book will be widely shared and read, in schools, at home, and in civic settings to inform readers of the history, status, and importance of The Capitol, and to thereby encourage greater respect for U. S. institutions, The Constitution and laws under which we live, and the importance of the values that underlie both our government and our democratic society.