Day Three ~ The United States Capitol

 Wednesday, September 14, 2022 ~ By Jarret

One aspect of our previous DC trips that I’d always wished we’d planned ahead for was a tour of the Capitol itself. It seemed unlikely that I’d be able to get a tour when I thought of it only a few days before our trip, but it was actually simple to reserve! When Kendra and the boys and I had been in DC before, we were of course in awe of the stature and beauty of the Capitol building. It’s MASSIVE. It’s majestic. The British burned it in 1814. And America rebuilt it. And expanded it in subsequent years, more than doubling its size. Just the dome weighs almost 9 million pounds, which is just hard to fathom. Anyway, I think it’s pretty amazing altogether, so we were so glad to get a tour.

After an introductory video, we were led to a former Supreme Court chamber, used from 1810-1860. It had exactly the dignity you’d expect from such a room.

Former Supreme Court Chamber

Hat Hooks for Justices

Next, we were led to the “Crypt”, which was a beautiful circular chamber with 40 sandstone Doric columns. This chamber is directly below the rotunda and contains 13 statues to represent prominent figures from the 13 original colonies. It was called the "Crypt" as it was originally intended that George Washington be buried beneath the floor.

We then ascended to the rotunda, which is the large center room below the 9 million pound dome. It’s as incredible as you’d imagine, with paintings representing the nation’s history around the perimeter, as well as more statues. And just a massive and beautiful open space.

Rotunda ceiling

Painting ~ "the Apotheosis of George Washington"

Frescoed Frieze depicting American history

12' x 18' painting in the Rotunda ~ Declaration of Independence

Adjacent to the rotunda is Statuary Hall, which we went to next. This was the original chamber for the House of Representatives, but it unfortunately suffers from bad acoustics. So, the new chamber that is still used today was constructed for the House in the 1850’s, and then the old chamber was later converted to Statuary Hall. Congress at some point invited each state to send two statues for either this space or to be distributed throughout the rest of the building. So, there are many great statues there, which we’d have needed much more time to peruse.

One of Washington State's two statues, Marcus Whitman

There were other spaces that we went through briefly, but that was the gist of it. We would have had to jump through some additional hoops to actually see the House and Senate sessions, or even their chambers, so this was obviously not a complete tour. Nonetheless, it was well worth the effort, and an exciting way to connect with the place where laws are made in our country. And to see the inside of the building that we’ve long admired from the outside.