Capitol Building and Supreme Court in DC

Tours of the US Capitol are a walk through the halls of history. Think of standing where Abraham Lincoln had his desk as a senator, or where many presidents have given the State of the Union address. And the Supreme Court? Far from a stodgy old building, it’s a hotbed of controversy.

: “To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.” – Otto von Bismarck

: Among the 102 statues contributed by 50 states, the only statue for ALL the states is Rosa Parks.

: A copy of the Statue of Freedom, the 19 ft. bronze statue that tops the US Capitol building.

: Pioneers for Women’s Suffrage: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott. They fought for women’s voting rights and the abolition of slavery. Rumor has it that the uncarved lump of marble in the back is reserved for the first woman president.

: Master of the House, keeper of the zoo. Ready to relieve you of a buck or two.

: A proud bronze George Washington stands in front of Trumbull’s famous Declaration of Independence painting. Some painting details were from Thomas Jefferson’s memory. Those British flags on the wall? A little artistic license.

: The magnificent rotunda ceiling, beneath which presidents and the occasional regular citizen are lain in state or honor. Most recently, Reverend Billy Graham.

: The rotunda ceiling depicts George Washington rising to the heavens in glory, flanked by figures representing Liberty and Victory. Washington was deified after his death in 1799. He chose to be buried at his Mt. Vernon home, rather than the crypt in the Capitol building.

: The French Revolutionary era was where the terms Left-wing politics and Right-wing politics first originated. The seating of the ancient régime of France had the aristocrats sitting on the right, and the commoners sitting on the left.

: Below the rotunda ceiling, a 13 ft. high painting circles the wall, depicting scenes from America, like the Wright Brothers. It’s a curved but flat frieze, meant to look carved in stone.