DOCUMENTS
ROOM
THE NATIONAL
CAPITOL
A Chapter from the Guidebook
'WASHINGTON: CITY &f CAPITAL'
prepared by the federal writers' project
of the works progress administration
The full 1100-page volume, of which this
is a part, is on public sale at bookstores and
the office of the Superintendent of Docu¬
ments, United States Government Printing
Office, Washington, D. C., at s3.00 per copy
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 193 7
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CAPITOL HILL
AND
VICINITY
THE CAPITOL
★
On Capitol Hill. Taxi, first zone. Private automobiles may enter the grounds; limited
parking space in the east plaza.
Reached by cars marked Lincoln Park, Navy \ard via New Jersey Avenue, Seventeenth
and Pennsylvania Avenue SE., and Fourteenth Street-Navy Yard.
The Capitol is open every day of the year except Christmas Day and New Years Day,
from 9 a. m. to 4:30p. m., and after 4:30 when Congress is in session.
Visitors wishing to view Congress in session are admitted without formality to certain
portions of the galleries within limit of capacity. Other sections of the galleries are reserved
for holders of cards from Senators and Representatives; the cards, good for an entire session
of Congress, are issued to constituents on application.
The dome is open to the public weekdays from 9 a. rn. to 3:35 p. m. Services of official
guides inside the Capitol available between 9:30 a. m. and 4:30 p. m. Charge, 25 cents;
tour lasts about 1 hour.
N FEBRUARY 3, 1865, there met on shipboard in Hampton
Roads delegations representing the Government of the United
States and the Southern Confederacy to discuss the termination of
the great and bitter Civil War. In an interval in the negotiations
former United States Senator R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, repre¬
senting the Confederacy, turned to former Gov. William H. Seward,
of New York, Secretary of State in Lincoln's Cabinet.
"Governor," asked Hunter, "how is the Capitol? Is it finished?"
That such a question should have been asked at such a moment re¬
flects the hold which the Capitol has long had on American sentiment.
Here, with but one brief interruption since 1800, has been the seat
of the Congress of the United States. Here, recurrently, the manifold
political forces affecting the destinies of the land have clashed in
dramatic conflict, to be resolved in scenes expressing the historic devel¬
opment of the Nation. Here the Federal Government has spent some
$25,000,000 to create a center not only of historical and political
importance but also of architectural and artistic interest.
The impressive Capitol Building dominates all Washington. It
stands in spacious grounds on the crest of a hill—once known as
209
Jenkins Ilill after a now-forgotten worthy, today familiarly called
"The Hill"—where cross the north-south and the east-west axes of the
Federal metropolis. Such is its massiveness and eminence that it
dwarfs the great buildings nearby. Whether by day, when the sun
glints brilliantly from its white walls, or by night when floodlights
throw into extraordinary prominence the huge central dome, it
constantly attracts the eye.
Visitors from many States may see here the inspiration of their
own State capitol, and will recognize in the dome a symbol of Fed¬
eral power perhaps even better known than the great seal of the
United States itself. Here, undoubtedly, most tourists will find the
high point of their experiences in the National Capital.
HISTORY OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CAPITOL
The selection of a site for the Congress House or the Capitol was
one of the first problems that confronted Maj. Pierre Charles
L'Enfant when, at President Washington's direction, he sought to
lay out the new Federal city. He chose the present site—a hill rising
88 feet above the Potomac River—because it seemed to him "a
pedestal waiting for a monument." Under the original plans of
the city the site was approximately near the geographical center,
and it gave a view over the whole Capital.
Late in 1792 the Commissioners of the Federal city announced a
prize competition for plans both for the Congress House and the Pres¬
ident's House. Of the score of plans submitted for the Capitol, that
of Dr. William Thornton, amateur architect, was selected, despite the
lateness of its presentation. Both President Washington and Secre¬
tary of State Jefferson were deeply impressed by the Thornton plan.
On September 18, 1793, the cornerstone was laid amid great pomp.
Music sounded and artillery fired salutes as Masons in full regalia
stood by and George Washington, wearing an apron embroidered by
Mine. Lafayette, declared the stone "well and truly laid."
Several architects appointed to superintend construction were dis¬
missed for attempting to alter the Thornton plan, and finally its
creator was placed in charge. Collaborating with James Hoban,
designer of the White House and official architect of the Govern¬
ment, he proceeded with the work. When Federal funds gave out
in 1796 the State of Maryland supplied money raised through a
lottery. Subsequently the Federal Government reassumed the
financial burden.
In 1800 the north wing, to be known for a long time as the Senate
wing and later as the Supreme Court wing, was completed. Con-
210
gress, removing from Philadelphia, met here on November 21, 1800,
for the first time in the new Capital City, and was addressed by
President Adams the following day. Both Senate and House, as well
as the Supreme Court (which met infrequently), convened for a time
in this rectangular building.
In 1801 there was erected within the half-completed House wing
walls an elliptical one-story brick structure, whose arched roof and
inside temperature caused it to be known as "the oven." In 1807 the
House of Representatives moved into the permanent south wing, on
its completion under direction of Benjamin H. Latrobe, appointed
Director of Works by President Jefferson in 1803. At this period the
two stone wings were joined by a wooden arcade where the rotunda
now stands. So undeveloped was the city that in 1809 the British
Ambassador "put up a covey of partridges about 300 yards from the
House of Congress, yclept the Capitol." Between the two wings "were
two wells of drinking water.
Noting that weather and souvenir hunters damaged the uncom¬
pleted building, Congress urged upon the Executive the necessity of
speed. But a great and unexpected set-back was to precede comple¬
tion. As an incident in the War of 1812 the British expeditionary
force under the command of Admiral Cockburn set fire to the unfin¬
ished Capitol, destroying the wooden roofing, the interior of the House
wing, the west side of the Senate interior, and many of the marble
columns. Admiral Cockburn's men ignited piles of inflammable
matter to burn "this harbor of Yankee democracy."
When Congress reassembled, it had to convene in cramped quarters
in Blodgett's Hotel at F and Seventh Streets, which was then in
use by the Patent Office. The question of removal of the seat of gov¬
ernment from Washington was widely agitated. In order to allay
this agitation, a private building was hastily erected by a group of
citizens and offered to Congress for its meeting place at a rental based
on cost. This building, known as the Brick Capitol, stood on the site
of the present Supreme Court Building. It served as the home of
Congress until the war-scarred structure was restored under Latrobe
in 1819. In 1827, under the direction of Charles Bulfinch, who had
succeeded Latrobe, the link between the two wings was completed and
crowned with a small wooden dome, essentially according to the
Thornton plan. From the viewpoint of architectural design, the
best period in the history of the Capitol came to a close at this
point.
In 1850 came the next major step, Congress authorizing the con¬
struction of two extensions. The plans of Thomas U. Walter, of
211
THE CAPITOL IN 1831
Philadelphia, were adopted, including the replacing of the old dome
by a larger one of metal. On July 4. 1851. the cornerstones of the
extensions were laid by President Millard Fillmore. In it Daniel
Webster deposited a document which declared proudly that the "Con¬
stitution still exists unimpaired . . . growing every day stronger
and stronger."
The House extension was completed and occupied in 1857. the
Senate extension in 1859. In 18G0 the Supreme Court moved into
the old Senate chamber, and in 1864 Congress transformed the old
House wing into Statuary Hall. Not even the Civil War was able
to halt the work of improving the Capitol, and as armies surged
back and forth across the Potomac and the fall of Washington was
several times threatened, workmen were quietly putting into place
the huge iron dome. A great patriotic crowd assembled on December
2, 1863, to witness the placing of Thomas Crawford's statue of Free¬
dom atop the lantern of the dome. When a field battery fired the
national salute at noon, the Capitol was complete in its main lines
as it stands today.
Subsequently minor renovations were made to permit the introduc¬
tion of steam heating (1865), elevators (1874), fireproofing (1881),
electric lighting (1882), and a modern drainage system (1893).
Light, heat, and power for the Capitol are supplied by the Capitol
power plant (erected in 1910) located at E Street, between South
Capitol Street and New Jersey Avenue.
212
The Capitol Grounds, covering f>s.8 acres, arc landscaped with 800
trees and many shrubs, besides fountains, terraces, and balustrades,
and are traversed by broad, sweeping walks and drives. They
were given their present general appearance in the last decades of
the nineteenth century by the famous landscape architect, Frederick
Law Olmsted.
Several trees possess historic interest. The Washington Elm, a
magnificent specimen more than 100 feet high, is said to have shaded
the first President while he discussed plans for the Capitol. In 1870
the Cameron Elm, near the southwest corner of the House wing, was
saved from felling by Senator Simeon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, who
persuaded the Senate to have a new sidewalk laid around it. Since
that time, no tree has been planted on the Hill without congressional
permission.
APPROACHES
From Union Station. Visitors arriving by train will have a view
of the grounds and of the central dome and Senate wing of the
Capitol across a spacious plaza in front of Union Station. From
here the speediest approach to the Capitol is along Delaware Avenue,
beginning at the Columbus Monument in front of the station and
continuing across the Plaza at right angles to the station facade. Vis¬
itors using this approach are advised to proceed to the east front
before undertaking detailed inspection of the Capitol.
From the east. A view of the Capitol as a whole can be ob¬
tained by approaching it from the east. The main driveway on
this side enters the Capitol Grounds at the corner of East Capi¬
tol and East First Streets. For some distance along this approach
the wings of the Capitol are masked by trees and shrubs. Then,
suddenly, the entire eastern facade is revealed. The Plaza is
cut by drives and adorned with large bronze lamps and fountain
basins.
It is on the steps of the eastern front of the Capitol that all Presi¬
dential inaugurations have been held since Andrew Jackson's time,
with the exception of that of President Taft, which, owing to
inclement weather, was held in the Senate Chamber. On a special
platform over the central outdoor stairway, the Chief Justice of the
United States administers the oath of office in the presence of his
colleagues, legislators, Governors, the uniformed diplomatic corps,
and thousands of spectators. The taking of the oath is followed by
delivery of the inaugural address and the procession to the White
House.
213
From the top of the central stairway there is a view across the
Capitol Grounds to the Supreme Court Building, tlie Library of
Congress, and the Senate and House Office Buildings.
From the west. Visitors from midtown commonly arrive by way
of Pennsylvania Avenue, passing the Peace Monument at First
Street, opposite the northwest entrance to the Capitol Grounds.
The approach to the Capitol from this side involves climbing a
great flight of steps, but on reaching the top one gets a particularly
advantageous view of the city, the Potomac River, and the distant
hills.
CRITICAL IMPRESSIONS
Dr. William Thornton's plans for the Capitol impressed Wash¬
ington by their "grandeur, simplicity and convenience"; Jefferson
found them "simple, noble and beautiful." They have the dignified,
graceful qualities of Federal classic architecture. Unhappily, the
Capitol follows the Thornton plan only in a limited sense. The
oldest sections alone reveal the intentions of the original architect,
and they are now obscured by the larger and later portions. The
need for expansion having arisen in a period when American archi¬
tectural skill was at a low ebb, the effect of the completed building, in
its interior especially, is discordant and eclectic. The dignity and
majesty of the exterior are attributable not to its detail but to the
imposing effect of its mass and silhouette.
The building's most pronounced accent is given by the great central
dome. Seen from a distance, its silhouette suggests those of St.
Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London. Seen from the eastern
plaza, however, the dome appears disproportionately heavy in rela¬
tion to the low facade, and the fact that it seems crowded forward,
well-nigh over the central portico, produces a feeling of uneasiness
in the composition as a whole.
The interior is rich in architectural ornament, tiled and mosaic
floors, variegated marbles, and great corridors and staircases. There
are, in addition, almost 300 pieces of sculpture and painting.
Viewed in detail, the Capitol gives, for the most part, an impres¬
sion of undiscriminating ornamentation. Most of the Capitol
decoration dates from the middle years of the last century when
skilled carvers, sculptors, and painters were rare in America, or
from the post-Civil War epoch, famous in Europe as well as in
America as one of unbridled lavishness in the creative arts. Nor did
it help much to import such men as the Franzonis, Andrei, Capellano,
Causici, and Costaggini. They were on the whole technically su-
215
perior to most of their American contemporaries, and Constantino
Brumidi, who worked on the Capitol from 1855 to 1880, was not
without a measure of talent. Yet none of these men stood near the
top of his craft even in this negligible period.
Nor did the artists work under altogether ideal conditions. Too
often political considerations carried weight. The general nature
of the complaint made by Representative Lovejoy in 1859 was, of
course, not without validity. He disapproved the pictures of "Old
Put" (Gen. Israel Putnam) and Cincinnatus abandoning their
plows, in the room of the House Committee on Agriculture. He
would have preferred "the picture of a western plow with its pol¬
ished steel moldboard, with the hardy yeoman . . . holding a span
of bays with arched neck and neatly trimmed harness" and at the
other end "a Negro slave with untidy clothing, with a slouching
gait, shuffling along by the side of a mule team . . . Thus we
should have a symbol of the two systems of labor now struggling
for ascendency."
John Trumbull, on the other hand, was, as Lovejoy put it, "most
barbarously tomahawked and scalped" by John Randolph, of Roa¬
noke, who in 1828 characterized the artist's Signing of the Declara¬
tion of Independence as a "shin-piece" because in it were exposed
gentlemen's legs in small clothes.
Again, Jefferson Davis who, as Secretary of War. was in charge
of the construction of the Capitol, compelled Crawford to alter the
headgear on his statue of Freedom, lest there be raised above the
Capitol such a portent as a Phrygian or liberty cap, the symbol of
liberated slaves. Crawford substituted a crested helmet.
When Greenough carved Washington clad in a toga—in order, he
explained, that the statue should not become ridiculous through
change in fashions of dress—his work was the subject of constant
attack, not on esthetic grounds but because exposure of a naked Wash¬
ington shoulder, "as though he were entering or leaving a bath", was
considered neither moral, respectful, nor patriotic. In 1908 the
statue was removed from the Capitol Grounds to the Smithsonian
Institution.
Even Benjamin Latrobe, setting about hiring the first foreign
artists in 1805, was no less concerned with the "good morals" of
his carvers of Corinthian capitals than with their artistic
endowment.
The result is indifferent at best. Mark Twain's exclamation that
here may be found "the delirium tremens of art" was unduly acrid
in view of the general artistic level of the period, but even so sober
216
DIAGRAM OF EAST ELEVATION OF THE CAPITOL
A—Rotunda B and C—Original Wings D and E—Passageways
F—House of Representatives G—Senate
a statesman as Senator Charles Sumner could not but declare on the
Senate floor that the rule to bar bad art from the Capitol had been
"too often forgotten."
Here and there, of course, is a beautiful mantel, a well-executed
row of columns, a vivid fresco. Some of the oil paintings, especially
those by Gilbert Stuart, Peale, Vanderlyn, Sully, Trumbull, and cer¬
tain other early American artists, have real merit. Strangely enough,
one of the least known decorative features is the most original and
successful—the so-called American order of capitals, Corinthian in
type, in which acanthus leaves have been replaced by tobacco leaves
or ears of corn. A few pieces of twentieth century sculpture—those
by Bartlett and Borglum for example—are on a high level of achieve¬
ment.
By and large, however, while no building in Washington can rival
the Capitol in historical interest, the architecture and decoration of
two contemporary structures, the White House and the District
Courthouse (formerly the City Hall), are unquestionably superior.
BUILDING EXTERIOR
The building is approximately 750 feet long and half as wide, cov¬
ering about 3.5 acres. As seen from the east or west, it is composed
of seven units (see diagram of elevation above). In the center
directly under the dome, is the rotunda (A in diagram of east ele¬
vation) the walls and floor of which are built of Aquia Creek (Va.)
sandstone painted white to harmonize with the marble portions of
the building. Flanking it are rectangular wings (B and C) rising
to a level with the base of the dome. These, the oldest units, once
217
joined by a wooden arcade, constitute the central section which from
1827 to 1857 composed the entire Capitol. At the south and north
extremities, linked to units B and C by short narrow passageways
(D, E), are the extended wings, housing, respectively, the House of
Representatives and the Senate (F, G). These two, the largest units,
are built of Massachusetts dolomite marble. Over units B and C are
flat domes topped by cupolas. These are, however, much smaller than
the central dome, and only the tops of the cupolas can be seen from
the ground level.
Central dome. The cast-iron dome, which cost more than $1,-
000,000, is painted white to harmonize with the masonry. With its
special trusses, bolts, and girders supporting a weight of 8,000,000
pounds, it represents a formidable engineering feat. It has a base
diameter of 135 feet and 5 inches and rises 285 feet above the eastern
plaza. It is composed of two shells, one imposed upon the other,
expanding and contracting with temperature variations. Between
them winds a stairway.
The cap of the dome springs from a drum modeled after that of
St. Peter's at Rome. Around the base of the drum is a peristyle
colonnade of 36 fluted Corinthian columns, representing the States in
the Union at the time the dome was completed. On top of the
colonnade is an exterior gallery. Above the peristyle is a clearstory
penetrated by long semicircular windows. A row of console brackets
forms a transition from the clearstory to the ribbed surface of the
cap. A series of medallion windows is set in the spaces between the
ribs.
Surmounting the cap is a "lantern" decorated with a colonnade of
13 fluted Corinthian columns, representing the original States of the
Union. At the base of the lantern is a lookout gallery. At its top
is Crawford's 19-foot bronze statue of Freedom. whose stiff conven¬
tionality is happily obscured by distance. Almost lost at sea several
times on its journey from Italy, the plaster model of this statue is
now in the National Museum (Arts and Industries Building). The
statue was cast by Clark Mills at his state-subsidized foundry in
Washington.
Exterior detail, east facade. The walls consist of a rusticated base
supporting Corinthian pilasters which rise two stories and are sur¬
mounted bv an entablature and a balustrated parapet. The windows
of the principal floor are surmounted by pedimented headings; the
smaller second-story windows are framed with a simple classic trim.
The eastern facades of the central section and of the two ex¬
tended wings are dominated by double porticoes of monolithic 30-foot
218
Corinthian columns. Each of these three sections is approached on
the east by a wide marble open stairway leading to the principal
floor. Beneath each stairway runs a vaulted passageway and a
porte-cochere.
Central portico, east facade. Flanking the central stairway are
marble groups. On the north is Horatio Greenough's The Rescue,
whose tableau of a frontiersman saving his wife and child from
massacre by an Indian is obscured by erroneous assembling of
the pieces. On the south is Luigi Persico's Discovery of America,
characterized by Senator Charles Sumner and others as "a man
rolling ninepins." Within the portico in niches in the main wall
are Persico's Ceres as Peace and Mars as War. Above the main
entrance is Antonio Capellano's bas-relief of Washing ton between
Fame and Peace.
Decorated pediments, east facade. The central pediment on the
east facade shows America, a female figure, listening to Hope (left)
and looking at Justice (right). Persico, the sculptor, is said to
have derived the idea for his Genius of America from John Quincv
Adams. The Senate (north) pediment displays a good example of
early American sculpture by Thomas Crawford on a theme popular in
Capitol decoration—The Progress of American Civilization and the
Decline of the Indian. America, a female figure, stands with a sol¬
dier, merchant, schoolmaster, and other figures symbolizing pros¬
perity. On America's left is the hunter, the Indian mourning his
dead, and the pioneer chopping wood—for some strange reason with
his left hand. The sculpture of the House pediment by Paul Bartlett,
unveiled in 1916, is considered among the better art works in the
Capitol. In the center is Peace Protecting Genius, while 10 flanking
figures represent the life and labors of the people. Waves at the
ends represent the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The marble for
these sculptures and for almost all the Capitol statuary is Ameri¬
can, which in this climate has proved superior to Italian or Greek
stone.
Portals, east facade. Of the three sets of bronze portals on the
east front, the 10-ton doors leading from the central portico to the
rotunda alone deserve detailed examination. Modeled by Randolph
Rogers at Rome in 1858, and cast by von Miiller, of Munich, these
eight panels and lunette tell the Story of Christopher Columbus.
While the statement once made of these doors, that in modeling,
detail, and general effect they compare favorably with the Ghiberti
doors in Florence, may be an exaggeration, they have distinct
artistic merit. The subjects are :
219
Lunette. Columbus Landing in America.
Left door, starting at the bottom. Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca;
Departure from Lu Rabida Concent; Audience with Ferdinand and Isa¬
bella; Departure from I'alos.
Right door, starting at the top. First Encounter with Indians; Triumphal
Entry into Barcelona; Columbus in Chains; Columbus on his Deathbed.
Panel border figurines. Alexander VI of Rome; Ferdinand and Isabella;
Charles VIII of France; John II of Portugal; Ilenry VII of England;
Cardinal Mendoza; Lady Beatriz de Bobadilla; Jua n Perez de March en a ;
Captain Pinzon of the Pinta; Bartholomew Columbus; Ojeda; Vespucci;
Cortcz; Balboa; and Pi:arro.
Panel frame portrait heads. Historians of Columbus.
Doorframe figurines. Asia; Africa; Europe; America.
Transom arch. Columbus.
The Senate doors (north portico), by Thomas Crawford, have six square
panels:
Top right. Death of Oen. Warren at Bunker Hill; middle, Washington
Rebuking Oen. Henry Lee at Monmouth; bottom, Hamilton Storming a
Redoubt at Yorktown; bo ttom left, Washington Under the Triumphal Arch
at Trenton on His Way to the First Inauguration ; middle, Chancellor Liv¬
ingston of New York Administering the Oath to Washington; top, Wash¬
ington Laying the Capitol Cornerstone.
Below. Medallions showing a Struggle Between a Hessian Soldier and
an American Farmer (right) ; Peace and Agriculture (left).
The House doors (south portico), by W. H. Rinehart from Crawford's design,
were the most ambitious work of American sculpture up to their time. The
subject, The Process of American Civilization and the Decline of the Indian,
is subdivided as follows:
Central figure. American Bestowing Honors on a Warrior (resemblance
to Washington; not a portrait); right, Commerce, Education, Mechanics,
Agriculture; left, Pioneer, Hunter, Dejected Chief, Squaw Mourning.
Exterior detail, west facade. (See West Front, below.)
Exterior detail, north and south facades. These facades are similar to that
of the east with one exception, being decorated in addition by projected
Corinthian colonnades.
TOUR OF THE INTERIOR
The Capitol has five stories, of which three—the sub-basement,
basement, and ground floor—have little interest for the tourist.
The sub-basement and basement are used solely for maintenance
and auxiliary services.
From the basement radiate three subways: one to the Library of
Congress consisting of a mechanized book conveyer; a pedestrians'
ramp to the House Office Building; and a motorized car service to
the Senate Office Building, available free to everybody.
The ground floor, part of which was used as a military bakery dur¬
ing the Civil War, now houses a number of offices, the Senate and
220
House restaurants and barber shops, and postal, telegraph, banking,
and railroad ticket offices for the convenience of Members of Con¬
gress. It also houses a law library, originally set up here because of
its proximity to the United States Supreme Court, which, for three-
quarters of a century, was located in the old Senate Chamber directly
upstairs. The library collection is still maintained in its old quar¬
ters, although a new one has been established in the Supreme Court
Building.
On the principal floor are the major rooms and objects of his¬
torical and artistic interest, with the exception of the Senate and
House galleries, which are on the gallery floor in the respective
extensions.
The following tour of the interior is arranged to lead the tourist
to the main points in the most efficient manner possible. It begins
at the east front and terminates on the west front. It takes about iy2
hours, exclusive of an extended stay in the legislative Chambers or
hearing rooms, or the ascent of the dome.
The principal floor is entered from the east by the Columbus Portal
of the central portico. This entrance leads directly to the Great
Rotunda (1).
GREAT ROTUNDA
This is the immense circular central hall of the building, located
beneath the central dome. It is 95 feet 8 inches in diameter, and
rises more than 183 feet to a domed copper ceiling or canopy, the
underside of the central dome's cap. The Virginia sandstone walls
are broken by four doorways on the principal axes of the room. The
door on the north leads toward the Senate extension. The south door
leads toward the House extension. The other doors lead to the east
and west fronts of the building.
The walls are divided by fluted Doric pilasters into eight large and
four small panels. The pilasters support an entablature and cornice
surmounted by an encircling coffered band and a frescoed frieze.
Light is admitted above through windows around the peristyle drum.
Above the windows is a gallery and above the gallery the frescoed
domical ceiling.
In 1825 the officers of the two Houses of Congress were charged
with the task of keeping order in their respective sections of the
Capitol. Between the two, in a sort of twilight zone, lay the
rotunda. Since neither the Speaker of the House nor the President
of the Senate was authorized to make rules governing the rotunda,
both refused to interfere with any who chose to use or misuse it.
221
1. Great Rotunda
2. North Small Rotunda
3. Supreme Court Foyer
4. Supreme Court Chamber
5. Arcaded Passageway
6. South Corridor
7. Kawt Corridor
8. East Elevator Foyer
9. I). C. Commit lee Room
10. Public Reception Room
11. Sergeant-at-Arms* Room
12. Senate Lobby
13. Vice-President's Room
14. Marble Room
15. President's Room
16. East Grand Stairway
17. Senate Chamber
18. West Grand Stairway
19a."| ,.c .
.... /Senators Stairways
l'JUJ
33. East Grand Stairway
34. Speaker's Lobby
35. Representatives* Chamber
36. West Grand Stairway
37. Arcaded Passageway
38. Statuary Hall
39. South Small Rotunda
40. Stairway to Dome
41. West Stair llall
42. Library Corridor
16. East Grand Stairway
18. West Grand Stairway
19a.1
jSenators' Stairways
20. West Corridor
21. Appropriations Committee
Suite
22. North Corridor
23. Dining Rooms
24. Central Corridor
23. Lower Hall—North Small
Rotunda
26. "Corncob" Foyer
27. Crypt
28. Octagonal Vestibule
29. Central Corridor
30. Hall of Columns
31. Committee on Agriculture
Room
32. Dining Rooms
33. East Grand Stairway
36. West Grand Stairway
41. West Stair Hall
43. West Portal
Consequently enterprising merchants here offered for sale, under
guise of conducting an exhibition of manufacturers, "stoves, stew
pans, pianos, mouse traps and watch ribbons," while an impresario
set up a "Panorama of Paris, Admission 50 cents."
The funeral rites of all Presidents who have died in office since
18G5, as well as those of other noted persons, have been held in the
rotunda. Abraham Lincoln was the first person to lie in state here;
others have been Salmon P. Chase, Charles Sumner, James A. Gar¬
field, William McKinley, Pierre L'Enfant (on the occasion of re¬
interment at Arlington), the Unknown Soldier of the World War,
Warren G. Harding, and William Howard Taft.
On the afternoon of January 30, 1835, the funeral services of a
Representative from South Carolina in this hall barely escaped be¬
coming the prelude to a great tragedy. President Jackson, near the
head of the funeral procession, had crossed the rotunda and was
about to go out to the portico, when a man in the crowd aimed a
pistol at the breast of Old Hickory from a distance of 8 feet. The
cap exploded but the pistol missed fire. The would-be assassin at¬
tempted unsuccessfully to fire a second weapon. The President
rushed at him with uplifted cane, but a naval lieutenant knocked the
assailant down. The attack threw Jackson into a tremendous pas¬
sion. "He fears nothing," Harriet Martineau recorded, "but his
temper is not equal to his courage. Instead of putting the event
calmly aside, and proceeding with the business of the hour, it was
found necessary to put him in his carriage and take him home."
The canopy, by Brumidi, portrays the Apotheosis of Washington.
It is more than G,000 square feet in area. The first President is
attended by Liberty and Victory. Grouped about him are female
figures representing the Thirteen Original States and six allegorical
groups typifying War, Agriculture, Mechanics, Commerce, Marine,
and Arts and Sciences. It has been said that in the war group
Brumidi aimed to represent Confederate leaders, but the artist claimed
that any resemblance was accidental.
A frieze 300 feet in circumference and 9 feet high, executed by
Brumidi in chiaroscuro fresco to resemble relief, encircles the ro¬
tunda about 75 feet above the floor level. After completing seven
panels, Brumidi died as a result, it was thought, of shock from a fall
from the scaffolding. Filipo Costaggini carried on the work from
Brumidi's sketches, crowding nine panels into seven to make room for
two of his own design. These he never completed, because of objec¬
tions to plans. Congress has since authorized completion of the frieze
by a picture commemorating the World War.
224
Scenes by Brumidi. Landing of Columbus, Cortex Entering llii' Hull of the
Montezumas, Pizarro's Conquest of Peru, Burial of He Soto, Pocahontas
Saving the Life of John Smith, Landing of the Pilgrims, Perm Making a
Treaty with the Indians.
Scenes by Costaggini. Scene in Plymouth Colony, Oglethorpe and Indians, Bat¬
tle of Lexington, Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Surrender of
Cm'nicaiiis, Death of Tecumseh, General Seott Entering Mexico City, Dis¬
covery of Gold in California.
Over the four doors and in the larger panels are rather crude low-
reliefs. It is related that a delegation of Winnebago Indians, making
their first visit to a white settlement, fled with war whoops from the
building when they saw the panel over the south door in which an
Indian is being vanquished in battle. The four reliefs over the doors
are:
West: The Rescue of Captain John Smith, by Capellano.
East: The Landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, by Causici.
North: Perm's Treaty with the Indians, by Gevelot.
South: Conflict Between Daniel Boone and Indians, by Causici.
Most of the statues in the rotunda are of Presidents, and all are by
American artists except the three d'Angers pieces. All were gifts to
the Nation. Among them, the Borglum Lincoln is of real distinction.
Circling the rotunda clockwise, beginning at the east door, the
statues are:
George Washington, two copies from Houdon: Edward D. Baker, by Horatio
Stone; Thomas Jefferson, by David d'Angers; Alexander Hamilton, by Horatio
Stone; U. S. Grant, by Franklin Simmons; Abraham Lincoln, by Vinnie Ream
Hoxie; Abraham Lincoln (colossal head), by Gutzon Borglum; James A. Gar¬
field, by C. H. Niehaus; Andrew Jackson, by L. F. and Belle Kinney Sholz;
Marquis de Lafayette, by David d'Angers; George Washington (bronze bust),
by David d'Angers.
The paintings hung in this room have considerable historical inter¬
est (see key hanging under each frame), especially those by Col.
John Trumbull who, after serving through the Revolution, deter¬
mined to develop his talent in order to create a graphic record of
his experiences. He had a keen eye for detail, traveled from New
Hampshire to South Carolina to gather material, and had Washing¬
ton, Jefferson, and other leading figures as models. Commissioned
by Congress, he painted four canvasses now in this room.
West side, by Trumbull: Washington Resigning his Commission, The Sur¬
render of Cornwallis, The Surrender of Burgoyne, The Signing of the Declara¬
tion of Independence (called "shin-piece" by John Randolph, of Roanoke).
East side, north to south: Robert Weir's Embarkation of the Pilgrims,
John Vanderlyn's Landing of Columbus, W. H. Powell's Discovery of the Mis¬
sissippi, and John G. Chapman's Baptism of Pocahontas.
225
NORTH SMALL ROTUNDA
The rotunda's north door leads to the North Small Rotunda
(2), an oval colonnaded hall with a domical ceiling topped by a
cupola. This, the oldest part of the Capitol, is famous for its
columns with capitals of tobacco leaves designed by Latrobe in 1S16
and executed by Iardella. The floor is of Roman mosaic. The
oval colonnade encloses an open well which affords a view of the
ground floor below. A door leads north to the Supreme Court
section (3, 4).
SUPREME COURT SECTION
The door leads into a foyer (3) containing statues of John Stark
(N. H.) by Carl Conrads, and Nathanael Greene (R. I.) by H. K.
Brown.
To the left (west) of this foyer are rooms formerly used by the
United States Supreme Court and now again devoted to Senate
purposes. To the right (east) of the foyer opens a semicircular
room—the old Senate Chamber, used for many years as the Court
Chamber of the United States Supreme Court (4).
The Supreme Court was at one time housed on the ground floor,
where a law library is now maintained. The similarity to a basement
habitation was sufficient to give point to a famous sally by John
Randolph, who called the courtroom, where Chief Justice Marshall
was handing down his historic constitutional opinions, "the cave of
Trophonius", after the subterranean chamber of the reputedly omnis¬
cient legendary oracle of Lebadea.
In 1860, after the new Senate extension was completed, the Court
took over the semicircular Chamber, made historic by over half a
century of Senate debates. It was occupied by the Court until the
erection of the new Supreme Court Building in 1935.
Here, in 1804, was held the first Federal impeachment trial, that
of Associate Justice Chase, of the United States Supreme Court.
At that time the Senate Chamber, at the direction of Vice President
Aaron Burr, was fitted up to resemble Westminster Hall, where the
British Parliament had recently tried Warren Hastings. The set¬
ting was highly dignified, but the Vice President, who was himself
under indictment in New Jersey "for the murder of Alexander
Hamilton", was frequently obliged to request the Senators to be
more quiet when they passed apples and cakes around.
Here the Senate confirmed the treaty which provided for the
Louisiana Purchase and ratified the treaties of peace which ended
226
the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Here, (oo, Weltsler, replying
to his rival, Hayne, declared for "liberty and union, now and for¬
ever, one and inseparable." From this room were buried both
Calhoun and Clay.
The room, remodeled (after the fire of 1814) by Latrobe along the
lines of a Greek amphitheater, has been preserved intact as it was
when the Supreme Court sat here. A low half-domed ceiling with a
large central skylight is decorated with square coffers. Ionic columns
of gray-green Potomac marble form a loggia and support a small
gallery, once the Senate gallery. Behind the dark-red draperies,
which once made a rich background for the Supreme "bench", the
Justices formerly lunched, one at a time, warmed by a wood blaze in
the fireplace. In front of the "bench" is a space formerly reserved
for clerks, reporters, counsel, and spectators. About the walls are
busts of former Chief Justices, that of John Jay by John Frazee
having been the first work of an American sculptor on Government
commission (1831).
It was in this atmosphere that the Supreme Court delivered its
decisions from the Civil War until very recently—decisions which
made the Court the final arbiter on both State and Federal legislation.
Here the Court decided some of the most momentous cases in its
history, including the income-tax suit, in which its ruling against the
Government brought about the sixteenth amendment, and the Schech-
ter "sick chicken" case, in which it invalidated the N. R. A.
It was in this room, too, that were held the meetings of the Elec¬
toral Commission, which decided the disputed Hayes-Tilden election
by declaring Hayes President by a majority of 1 electoral vote.
A short arcoded passage (5) flanked by outer loggias containing
statues of J. W. Clayton (Delaware), by Bryant Baker; C. W. Long
(Georgia), by J. Massey Rhind; John Hanson (Maryland), by R. E.
Brooks; Ephraim McDowell (Kentucky), by C. H. Niehaus, leads
north to the Senate extension at a point in the Senate south comdor
(6) directly opposite the main door to the Senate Chamber.
SENATE EXTENSION
On the principal floor of the Senate extension is the floor of the
Senate Chamber (17). The Chamber is surrounded by corridors
from which open a number of committee rooms, lobbies, and special
rooms (7-15), some of which (12-15) may not be visited during ses¬
sion hours. The gallery floor, one story higher, is reached by stair¬
ways (16, 18) and elevators in the east and west corridors. There
are the Chamber galleries, the best point from which to view the
227
m,i mi io.i.hiv:> aiix
Chamber and the only part of the Chamber accessible (o (he public
during session hours. On this floor are also committee I'ooms, the
press rooms, and a number of art works. On the ground foor are the
dining rooms (23), committee rooms, and special-service rooms.
These corridors, stairways, lobbies, and a number of committee and
special rooms contain notable frescoes and other decorations.
SENATE EXTENSION—PRINCIPAL FLOOR
The south corridor (6) is the first reached from the arcaded passage
leading out of the Supreme Court section of the Capitol. It runs
east and west, and lies directly south of the Senate Chamber. Over
the south door of the Chamber are three white and three red lights.
When the Senate is holding a public session, the white are lighted;
the red indicate an executive session.
The walls and vaulted ceiling of the corridor are divided into
numerous bays and panels. On the walls are busts of Vice Presidents,
supplementing a series in the Senate galleries. Here, too, are oil
portraits, including an excellent Washington by Gilbert Stuart.
A curious American clock in this corridor has been in operation ever
since 1802. The floors are paved with bright English minton tiles, as
are those of most of the Senate corridors.
The east corridor (7) opens off the south corridor and is similar
in general appearance. In a niche in the west Avail opposite the foot
of the east grand stairway (16) is Hiram Powers' statue of Franklin.
Over the landing halfway up the stairway is W. H. PoAvell's Battle
of Lake Erie, the largest oil painting in the Capitol. It is said to
have been posed for by Capitol employees and commemorates the
occasion on which Perry sent the message, "We have met the enemy
and they are ours."
North of the stairway and east of the east corridor is the east eleva¬
tor foyer (8). It is paved in black (New York) and white (Ala¬
bama) marble, and its walls of gray-green marble are flanked by
fluted columns of white Italian marble. The column capitals are of
the tobacco-leaf type. In the western part of the foyer are busts
of the most recent Vice Presidents—Thomas R. Marshall, Calvin
Coolidge, Charles G. Dawes, and Charles Curtis.
At the west end of the foyer is an arched portal and vestibule lead¬
ing to the Senate floor (17).
The District of Columbia Committee room (9) is reached through
a door at the northeast corner of the foyer. This room is notable for
its Brumidi frescoes. On the vaulted ceiling are allegorical figures
of History, Geography, Science, and Invention.
229
At the north end of the east corridor is the Senators' public recep¬
tion room (10), richly furnished and decorated. The walls of the
room are decorated with frescoes by Brumidi. On the south is Wash¬
ington, Jefferson, and Hamilton, in Conference. On the vaulted ceil-
ing is a series of allegories depicting War, Peace, Plenty, Temperance,
Prudence, Justice.
The /Sergeant at Ami's room (11) is reached through a door at the
northeast corner of the public reception room. This room contains
several Bruinidi frescoes, notably one on the ceiling representing
Columbia Leading the South Back Into the Union.
The door at the northwest end of the public reception room leads
into an official suite, consisting of the Senate lobby (12) and three
rooms opening from it to the north. When the Senate is not in session
visitors may enter this suite.
The Vice President's room (13), at the northeast end of the suite,
contains an interesting antique French clock, Rembrandt Peale's por¬
trait of Washington and several marble busts, one of Vice President
Henry Wilson.
The latter died here a few minutes after declaring that "if I live
to the close of my present term, there will be only five who have served
their country as long as I." From the ceiling hangs a great crystal
chandelier.
The marble room (14) is immediately to the west of the Vice Presi¬
dent's room. Here Senators receive distinguished guests. The walls
are veneered with variegated Tennessee marble, and the paneled Ver¬
mont marble ceiling is supported by Corinthian columns of Italian
marble.
The Presidents room (15) is in the northwest corner of the suite.
This, one of the most richly appointed rooms in the building, is a
striking example of pre Civil War decoration. Its massive chandelier
was gold-plated at a cost of $25,000. The walls are adorned with
carved gilded mirrors which repeat the gold accents of the chandelier
and window valances. The sumptuous use of color and pattern is
repeated in the tiled mosaic floor, the red window draperies, and the
red mahogany doors.
The room was decorated in fresco by Brumidi, the work taking 6V
years. On the walls are medallion portraits of W ashing ton and his
first Cabinet.
South, Washington and Secretary of State Jefferson; east, Secretary of U'or
Knox and Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton; west, Attorney General Edmund
Randolph and Postmaster General Osgood.
230
Another mural shows 11'ashing ton with Peace and Viator//. On the
ceiling are symbolic groups:
Religion (with Bible in hand), Legislature (teaching the Consti¬
tution to children), Liberty (with shield and fasces), Executive
Authority (with scepter and statute book).
In the corners of the ceiling are portraits of Columbus, Vespucci,
Franklin, and William Brewster.
SENATE EXTENSION—GALLERY FLOOR
It is best to ascend to the gallery floor by the east grand stairway
(16) or east elevator (in 8). The stairway, with mauve brown marble
handrail and columns, is lighted by a stained-glass skylight framed
with a metal grille. At the head of the stairway in the east gallery
corridor is A. G. Heaton's well-known Recall of Columbus.
In the elevator foyer north of the east grand stairway are numer¬
ous busts and paintings, including an idealization of Leif Ericson
Discovering America. Thus, within a few feet of each other, the
claims of northern and southern Europe to have produced the dis¬
coverer of the New World are presented impartially.
In this foyer are a number of busts, including those of Thomas
Crawford, much of whose sculpture is to be found in the Capitol;
Senator Charles Sumner, Union leader who was assaulted by Rep¬
resentative Brooks; and a number of Europeans who have been popu¬
lar in America. The latter are Kosciusko and Pulaski, Polish officers
who fought in the Revolution; Garibaldi, the Italian patriot and
liberator; and Viscount Bryce, British Ambassador at Washington
and student of American politics and life. On the west wall of the
corridor is Cornelia Adele Fassett's oil painting, The Florida Case
Before the Electoral Commission.
The north corridor (22) contains workrooms, telegraph offices, and
other facilities for newspaper correspondents attending Senate
sessions.
The south corridor (6) contains a number of undistinguished oil
paintings.
The Senate galleries can be reached from any of these corridors.
SENATE CHAMBER
This, the great central hall of the Senate extension, has served as
the Senate Chamber (17) since shortly before the Civil War, and has
been little changed since it was first put in use, except for such in¬
novations as air conditioning and modern lighting and heating. Gal-
231
leries extend around the four walls. On the south, facing the chair
of the Presiding Officer, is a gallery reserved for members of the
diplomatic corps (center) and for members of Senators' families.
The galleries on the east and west are in part reserved for holders of
special cards obtainable from Senators and in part open to the gen¬
eral public. The north gallery, behind the chair of the Presiding
Officer, is open to the general public, except for the raised central
portion, which is reserved for the press.
The room is 113 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 36 feet high. The
Chamber walls under the galleries are divided into panels by slender
pilasters grouped in pairs. The panels are decorated with arabesques
and shields. The doors leading to the floor and galleries are bird's-eye
maple, embellished with bronze appliques. The flat ceiling is a glazed
and paneled skylight with occasional stained-glass medallions. A
series of busts of the first 20 Vice Presidents of the United States
decorates the gallery walls.
There are no portraits, paintings, or mural frescoes in the Senate
Chamber. This is in accordance with a unanimous resolution passed
February 15, 1884. The set of busts of former Vice Presidents in the
galleries was specifically authorized in May 1886.
The Vice President of the United States, or the temporary Presi¬
dent of the Senate, sits in a carved chair on a dais in the form of a
classic marble niche. Other chairs on the dais are for other officials.
(See plan provided by doorkeeper.) Seated about the dais are pages,
who carry messages and run errands for the Senators. The boys who
serve as pages come from all parts of the country and spend part of
each day in school. Facing the dais are the desks of the Senators,
arranged in semicircular rows, Democrats to the right of the Presid¬
ing Officer, Republicans to his left. Members of other parties may
elect to sit on either side. The leaders of the two major parties sit in
the front row of their respective sides on the center aisle.
Here all Vice Presidents since 1861 have been inaugurated in the
presence of the President, President-elect, and Members of Congress,
just before the new President takes the oath in front of the Capitol.
Here the Senate conducts its debates and votes on legislation. Here,
also, it tried President Johnson and other Federal officials impeached
by the House.
The west grand stairway (18) leads down from the gallery floor.
At the top is one of Charles Willson Peale's famous portraits of
Washington. Over the landing halfway down is James Walker's
oil, The Battle of Cha-pvZtepec. At the foot of the stairway in the
west corridor of the principal floor is Horatio Stone's marble statue
232
of Hancock. The stairway continues to the ground floor of the
extension.
SENATE EXTENSION—GROUND FLOOR
The west corridor (20) 011 the ground floor is elaborately decorated
with Brumidi frescoes. Here are vividly executed arabesques,
lunettes, and medallion panels of animals, allegories, portraits, and
historic scenes, all in the Renaissance manner. The north end of the
west corridor has oecome known as the Pompeiian corridor, due to
the color and treatment of the decorations.
The Appropriations Committee suite (21) opens west off the west
corridor. It is lavishly decorated with Brumidi frescoes. In one
room are figures representing the planets, genre heads, and conven¬
tional forms. In the other are Revolutionary scenes:
Boston Massacre, Battle of Lexington, Death of General Wooster, Washing¬
ton at Valley Forge, the Storming of Stony Point.
The west corridor opens into the north corridor (22) where are
two private stairways (19a, 19b) used by Senators to reach the lobby
upstairs. Charles Baudin modeled the elaborate bronze handrails
on these stairways, in part of Brumidi's design. Similar stairways
are located in the House extension.
The Senators' Refectory (23) and the public dining room (23)
are on the east side of the building. No alcoholic liquors are sold
here, although the House restaurant sells beer. At one time light
wines were permitted in the Senate restaurant. In 1838 Captain
Marryat, the British novelist, recorded that by asking for pale
sherry at the Senate bar the thirsty could get gin.
GROUND FLOOR PASSAGE AND CRYPT
A long central corridor running from north to south (24-29) con¬
nects the Senate extension with the House extension. After passing
under the Supreme Court section, it opens into an oval hall (25)
containing a circle of piers supporting the north small rotunda
colonnade. Through the light well a view of the small dome may
be obtained.
A door on the southeast (left) leads to the corncob foyer (26)
containing Latrobe's interesting and original columns which, as he
wrote Jefferson in 1809, won him "more applause from members of
Congress than all the works of magnitude or difficulty that sur¬
rounded them." They were executed by Guiseppe Franzoni. The
capitals are carved with ears of corn in place of acanthus leaves, and
the flutings suggest cornstalks.
233
CORNCOB CAP OF COLUMN IN CAPITOL, BY BENJAMIN LATROBE
The foyer gives access to the law library on (he north (right). The
foyer leads east to the exterior, where (left) a bronze tablet marks
the cornerstone of the Capitol laid by George Washington.
The foyer to the ground-floor corridor leads south to an immense
circular hall located directly under the rotunda. The hall is known
as the crypt (27). It is divided into concentric circular aisles by
sturdy paired columns, whose details are derived from the Doric
columns of the Temple of Paestum. The colonnade supports a
groined arched ceiling. The room reveals the ponderous substructure
of the building. A white stone in the pavement marks the building's
mathematical center.
In the crypt are Adelaide Johnson's busts of three famous early
suffragists—Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton. So carved as to make the heads seem to be emerging from
a marble block, this sculpture is widely known as "The Ladies of the
Bathtub."
In a room below the crypt (reached through a door in the west
wall) is kept the black-draped catafalque used for those who lie in
state in the Capitol. In this basement chamber it was once planned
to keep the bodies of George and Martha Washington, but the
Washington family objected to their removal from Mount Vernon.
The south door of the crypt opens on an octagonal vestibule (28)
with arched ceilings. Near here, some authorities believe, S. F. B.
Morse sat on May 24, 1844, when he sent to Baltimore the message,
"What hath God wrought!"—the first formal communication over his
newly perfected telegraph. This vestibule and a central corridor
(29) lead south to the House of Representatives extension, entering
the extension at the Hall of Columns.
BALL OF COLUMNS
Modeled after the Temple of the Winds at Athens, this hall (30)
is often called "Tobacco Hall" because of its brown-stained walls and
Latrobe's tobacco-leaf capitals. The rhythmic succession of ceiling
cross beams provides an interesting perspective. This hall serves
as a monumental foyer to the south portal of the building. Here are
placed 16 statues formerly in Statuary Hall. Oil alternate sides,
beginning at the northeast corner, they are:
General E. Kir by Smith (donated by Florida), by C. A. Pillars; Charles B.
Aycoclc (N. C.), by Charles Keck; George It GIick (Kans.), by C. H. Niehaus;
Zachariali Chandler (Mich.), by C. H. Niehaus; James Z. George (Miss.), by
A. Lukeman; James Harlan (Iowa), by Nellie V. Walker; John E. Kenna
(W. Va.), by A. Doyle; Francis P. Blair (Mo.), by A. Doyle; Philip Kearny
235
(N. J.), by II. K. Brown; (icn. James Shields (111.), by Leonard Voile; John
Winthrop (Mass.), by R. S. Greenongh; Juntos P. Clarke (Ark.), by I'.
Coppini; Oliver /'. Morion (Ind.), by C. II. Niebaus; J. L. M. Curry (Ala.), by
I). Sodini: Thomas S. Kitty (Calif.), by Ilaig I'atigian; Joseph Collutnvr (Vt.),
by Preston Powers.
On (lie ground floor just south of the west grand stairway is the
Room of the Committee on Agricullnee (31), containing Brumidi's
first allegorical frescoes, done in 1856.
Ceiling: The Four Seasons; east wall, Cinciiinafus Called from the Plough
to Become Dictator of Kontc; west wall, Putnam Called from the Plough to
Join the Revolutionary Forces; south wall, Harvest Scene in Olden Times and
Washington (medallion) ; north wall, Modern Harvest Scene and Jefferson
(medallion).
East of the Hall of Columns are the dining rooms (32). Stair¬
ways (33) and elevators lead up to the principal and gallery floors of
the House extension.
HOUSE EXTENSION—PRINCIPAL FLOOR
The main point of interest on the principal floor of the House ex¬
tension is the Speaker's lobby (34) at the south end. This is acces¬
sible only when the House is not sitting. Here Representatives often
exhibit materials to illustrate their arguments in legislative debates.
The lobby is richly decorated with frescoes and hangings, and with
portraits of former Speakers, the most notable being that of Thomas
B. Reed by John S. Sargent. At the east and west ends of the lobby
are private stairways leading to the ground floor, similar to those in
the Senate extension. Over the west stairway hangs an oil painting,
Albert Bierstadt's Yiscaine Landing at Monterey. Over the east
stairway is his Discovery of the Hudson River. In this lobby is a
large map, painted on glass, which shows by means of lights the state
of the weather at any moment in all parts of the country.
The east grand stairway (33) opens off the east corridor and leads
to the gallery floor. Facing the foot of the stairway in a niche in the
west wall of the corridor is Powers' well-known marble statue of
Jefferson. On a landing halfway up the stairway is Francis B.
Carpenter's First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.
When this, the only painting in the Capitol commemorating the
Civil War, was first hung, the two Houses of Congress met jointly to
celebrate the occasion. The speech of Representative Alexander H.
Stephens, former Vice President of the Confederacy, in praise of
Lincoln at that meeting, was a notable expression of the healing of
the breach between leaders of the opposing forces in the Civil War.
236
The south corridor contains rooms for newspaper correspondents
attending House sessions.
The House galleries can he reached from any of these corridors.
HOLSE CHAMBER
This (35) is the great central hall of the House extension; it can be
viewed best from the galleries, which are similar to those in the Sen¬
ate Chamber. This room has served as the House Chamber since its
construction shortly before the Civil War. The Chamber walls under
the galleries are divided into panels by pilasters grouped in pairs.
The panels are decorated with arabesques and shields. The doors
leading to the floor and galleries are of bird's-eye maple, embellished
with bronze appliques. The flat ceiling is a glazed and paneled sky¬
light, decorated with medallions containing coats of arms of the 48
States, designed by Johannes A. Oertel.
On the south wall is Vanderlyn's fine copy of Stuart's Wash¬
ington, and a portrait of Lafayette by Ary Scheffer, presented by the
French artist in 1824 at the time of Lafayette's visit to Washington.
The fresco on the same wall, signed "C. Brumidi, Citizen of the
U. S.", portrays Cornwallis suing for cessation of hostilities.
The Speaker of the House and other officials and stenographers sit
on the marble dais. Facing the dais are 444 seats arranged in
semicircular rows. The 435 Members of the House have no desks or
reserved seats.
On a malachite stand at the Speaker's right is the great mace of
the United States, a bundle of 13 black rods surmounted by a silver
globe and eagle. When the House meets as a Committee of the
Whole, the mace is laid on the floor.
It is in this room that both branches of the National Legislature
meet to listen to messages from the President when personally deliv¬
ered by the Chief Executive. President Jefferson interrupted the
practice of delivering Presidential messages in person on the ground
that such a practice savored too much of "speeches from the throne",
and had his messages read by the clerks of the respective bodies.
Jefferson's method was followed by all Presidents until Woodrow
Wilson revived the older one. In this room both House and Senate
solemnly assembled on the night of April 4, 1917, to hear his mes¬
sage recommending the declaration of war against Germany. Since
Wilson's time the personal delivery of major Presidential messages
has been followed with few lapses.
The West Grand Stainnay (36) leads down from the gallery floor
to the principal floor. At the head of the stairs is R. N. Brook's
237
portrait of John Marshall. Over the landing, halfway down the
stairway, is Emanuel Leutze's mural, Westward the Course of Em¬
pire Takes Its Way, showing the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific
Ocean, prairie schooners, Indian raiders, and gold prospectors, all
in a singular medley. Immediately below is a panel by the same
artist showing San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate. At the
foot of the stairway in the west corridor of the principal floor is
Joseph Lasalle's bust of Be-Sheck-Kee, Chippewa chief, modeled
after a marble bust by F. Vincenti.
A door in the north wall of the corridor on the principal floor
leads out of the House extension into an arcaded passageway (37)
flanked by outer loggias. The fresco landscapes in the soffits of the
arches are by Brumidi. A critic has said of C. B. Ives' statue of
Jonathan Trumbull here that, of all the dead then in and around
Statuary Hall, it seemed "most conscious of being dead and most
solicitous to appear alive." Here also are statues of William King
(Maine), by Franklin Simmons; James Marquette (Wisconsin), by
G. Trentanove; Wade Hampton (South Carolina), by F. W.
Ruckstuhl.
STATUARY HALL
The corridor leads into Statuary Hall (38), a semicircular room 96
feet in diameter, extended on the flat side by a colonnaded bay.
From 1807 to 1857 this was the Representatives' Chamber. When
it was first completed, John Randolph, of Roanoke, remarked that
it was "handsome and fit for anything but the use intended."
The Corinthian colonnade on the north side and the screen of col¬
umns on the south side are monoliths of variegated Potomac marble,
with capitals of white Italian marble modeled after those of the cho-
ragic monument of Lysicrates at Athens. The dome-like ceiling is
decorated with coffers and surmounted by a cupola.
The eagle over the south door is by Velaperti and is his sole work
in the Capitol. Latrobe was much dissatisfied with the original
design, which resembled a Roman eagle rather than an American
bald eagle. Fearing that "any glaring impropriety of character will
be immediately detected by our Western members", Latrobe asked
Charles Willson Peale to help the Italian with the design. Subse¬
quently Velaperti disappeared, and it was thought by many that he
drowned himself in disappointment at the reception accorded his
work. Enrico Causici did the Liberty above Velaperti's eagle. On
the north is a gallery decorated by Franzoni's marble Car of History
clock.
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The acoustics of this room were faulty for a legislative chamber.
One of its acoustic peculiarities, which may still be experienced, is
that a person standing on a certain spot—now identified with a brass
marker—can hear plainly the whispers of another person standing
at a corresponding point in the east side of the hall, even though the
latter turn his back. To smother such reverberations great curtains
were hung between the columns on the south side. In front of these
curtains were placed couches on which Members might recline.
So great was the crowding, toward the end of the House's use of
this room, that those seated in the front rows of the galleries found
it impossible to push their way out for refreshment. Thus grew up
a practice of passing food from the floor to the galleries by means
of a long pole. Ladies and members of the diplomatic corps, once
permitted to sit on the floor, were subsequently banished to the
galleries with the other spectators.
It was in this room that the aged ex-President, John Quincy
Adams, was stricken with paralysis during a roll call in 1848; a
metal plate in the floor, 10 paces in front of the Jefferson Davis
statue, marks the spot where he fell. Here Henry Clay presided
over the House for many years, making of the Speaker's post a center
of political power.
When the House debated the Missouri Compromise, an unusual
number of ladies were among the spectators. John Randolph of
Roanoke was moved to point his finger to the gallery and exclaim:
"Mr. Speaker, what, pray, are all these women doing here, so out of
place in this arena? Sir, they had much better be at home attending
to their knitting." Before what the newspapers called "the misery
debate" was concluded, the House was exhausted and one Member
fainted while attempting to speak.
Here, in 1824, the House of Representatives heard two addresses
by Robert Owen, the Scotch Utopian Socialist, then on his way to
found a colony at New Harmony, Ind., and were much amazed by his
views. Here, in 1834, the death of John Randolph of Roanoke, whose
romantic presence had graced the House for 24 years, was announced
by a colleague who himself fell dead as he spoke.
In 1838 Representative William Graves, of Kentucky, challenged
to a duel Representative Jonathan Cilley, of New Hampshire, who
on the floor of the Chamber had passed the lie to a Virginian. The
matter was settled on Marlboro Pike with rifles, and the New
Hampshire Congressman was killed. It was at this time, and not
after the Burr-Hamilton duel, that dueling was made illegal. But
Congressmen did not immediately abandon the practice.
239
From 1857 until 18(54 the room was empty except for "cobwebs,
apple cores, and hucksters carts." Toward the end of that period
a Congressman complained about the state of this room. "I look
around," he said, "to see where the venerable John Quincy Adams
trembled in his seat and voted and I see a huckster woman selling
ginger bread. I look to see . . . where Clay sat, and I find a woman
selling oranges and root beer."
In 1804 this room was dedicated as a National Statuary Hall, to
which each State might send statues of two distinguished deceased
citizens. Due to overcrowding, some of the statues are now dis¬
tributed in the Hall of Columns, several principal floor corridors, and
elsewhere.
Beginning east of the north entrance and going clockwise, the
statues in this hall are :
Daniel Webster (donated by New Hampshire), by Carl Conrads; John C.
Grccnway (Arizona), by Gutzon Borglum ; Samuel Adams (Massachusetts), by
Anne Whitney; Charles Carroll (Maryland), by R. E. Brooks; Robert Livingston
(New York), by E. D. Palmer; Dr. John Gorrie (Florida), by C. A. Pillars;
Frances E. Willard (Illinois), the only woman so honored, by Helen F. Mears;
Hannibal Hamlin (Maine), by C. E. Tefft; Thomas H. Benton (Missouri), by
Alexander Doyle; Samuel J. Kirk-wood (Iowa), by Vinnie Ream Hoxie; Roger
Sherman (Connecticut), by C. B. Ives; Zebulon B. Vance (North Carolina), by
Gutzon Borglum ; Alexander H. Stephens (Georgia), by Gutzon Borglum; Ethan
Alien (Vermont), by Larkin G. Mead; George L. Shoup (Idaho), by F. E.
Triebel; John C. Calhoun (South Carolina), by F. W. Ruckstuhl; Henry Clay
(Kentucky), by C. H. Niehaus; Lewis Cass (Michigan), by Daniel Chester
French ; Caesar A. Rodney (Delaware), by Bryant Baker ; William Allen (Ohio),
by C. H. Niehaus; TJriah M. Rose (Arkansas), by F. W. Ruckstuhl; Jefferson
Davis (Mississippi), by A. Lukeman ; Robert E. Lee (Virginia), by E. V. Valen¬
tine; Roger Williams (Rhode Island), by F. Simmons; Junipero Serra (Cali¬
fornia), by E. Cardorin ; Robert Fulton (Pennsylvania), by Howard Roberts;
Joseph Wheeler (Alabama), by Berthold Nebel; Henry M. Rice (Minnesota), by
F. E. Triebel; Robert M. La Follette (Wisconsin), by Jo Davidson; John
Sevier (Tennessee), by L. F. and Belle Kinney Sholz; Francis H. Picrpont
(West Virginia), by Franklin Simmons; Lew Wallace (Indiana), by Andrew
O'Connor; John J. Ingalls (Kansas), by C. PI. Niehaus; Sequoyah (Oklahoma),
by Vinnie Ream Hoxie; Sam Houston (Texas), by E. Ney; Richard Stockton
(New Jersey), by H. K. Brown.
SOUTH SMALL ROTUNDA
Through a small vestibule to the north, one enters the south small
rotunda (39), a circular room with domical ceiling and cupola. The
classic details adhere faithfully to Thornton's original plans. Like
the north small rotunda, this room is one of the few in the Capitol
which reflects the spirit of the Federal neo-classic school, displayed
240
in the delicacy and refinement of columns, archways, and ornamental
ceiling. Here, in the sandstone walls, and in the age-worn spiral stair¬
way opening off the southwest corner, can be studied 1 he texture and
scale of the original masonry of the Capitol. The south small rotunda
contains three statues: George Clinton (New York), by H. K. Brown;
S. F. Austin (Texas), by Elisabet Ney; J. P. G. Muhlenberg
(Pennsylvania), by Blanche Xevin.
ASCENT OF THE DOME
From this room the rotunda, the starting point of the tour, is
reached again by the north door. Visitors who have postponed the
ascent of the dome may now reenter the north small rotunda (2)
and take the stairway (40) on the southwest side to the dome. The
stairway, which runs between the two shells of the dome and thus
gives a view of the inner structure, has 365 steps, representing the
days of the year. It leads to the gallery just below the Brumidi
fresco under the dome cap, whence can be obtained a view of the
rotunda below, and a close-up of the Apotheosis of Washington.
This gallery is a remarkable source of echoes. The stairway leads
also to the two exterior dome galleries. That just below the lantern
is the highest point to which the public is admitted. Here, and
almost equally from the gallery on top of the lower colonnade, can
be obtained a view of the city and surrounding regions inferior
on!y to that from the Washington Monument. There is a particu¬
larly comprehensive view of the beautiful Capitol Grounds and
of the Supreme Court Building to the east.
WEST FRONT
After descending, visitors are advised to proceed by way of the
rotunda (1) and the West Portal (43) of the rotunda to a stair hall
(41) and the west portion of the rotunda unit, once occupied by the
Library of Congress. The stair hall is executed in white polished
marble. Flanking the centrally placed stairway are colonnades of
fluted ionic columns. The north and south corridors (42) beyond
the stair hall are paved in varicolored marble inlay; and the canvas-
covered walls, painted in soft shades of vermilion and buff trimmed
in gold, are tastefully decorated with the Pompeiian motifs.
Through the west windows one can obtain an unusual panorama
of the city and the surrounding region.
By descending the stairway and going out of the west doorway,
visitors who reach the Capitol from Union Station or the east enter
241
the vx'st esplanade from which can be seen the west facade and
approach.
Exterior detail, west facade. Here, as on the east, the dominant
architectural note is renaissance neo-classicism. Projecting from the
central section and the two extended wings are colonnaded loggias or
porches. The basement, above ground level here due to the sharp
drop in grade, is hidden from the approaches by the esplanade which
stretches out along the entire west front at the ground-floor level.
11 est approach. On the west are lawns cut by tree-lined walks
leading gently up to two broad stairways which sweep around a
semicircular retaining wall to the esplanade. On the lower level
between the stairways is a seated heroic bronze of Chief Justice
John. Marshall by W. W. Story, and behind it is a white marble
fountain basin. From the esplanade, reached by either stairway, is
afforded a fine view of the Mall, Washington Monument, and the
tree-bordered promenades extending through the lower lawns, one
to the Peace Monument (to the right) and the other to the Garfield
Monument (to the left). Beyond is the magnificent panorama of
the city as a whole, and of the encircling blue hills of Virginia.
CONGRESS
The Congress of the United States, whose visible symbol is the
Capitol, is the oldest republican legislature in the world. The British
Parliament is, of course, older, but technically the houses at West¬
minster constitute the legislative organ of a monarchy rather than of
a republic. In terms of the power of the National State which it
represents, Congress may also be considered the most powerful legis¬
lature in the world, although in terms of the distribution of power
within a State it is not as powerful as some European legislatures,
which control the executive branches of their governments and are
unrestricted by their judiciaries. It was the deliberate intention of
the framers of our Constitution, acting upon tlie eighteenth-century
theory of checks and balances, to divide the sovereign power of the
United States into three parts—legislative, executive, and judicial—
making no one of them supreme. But even with the limitations of
the tripartite system of government the powers and prestige of Con¬
gress are enormous. It enacts laws for a nation of 130,000.000 people
and has appropriated as much as 8 billions of dollars in a single
peacetime year and 32 billions in 2 years of war.
The scheme of selecting Members of Congress is substantially that
laid down in the Constitution of 1787. The Constitution provided
242
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT ADDRESSING CONGRESS IN 1933
for a Congress of two Houses, the House of Representatives and tlie
Senate. The House of Representatives was to he a body of indefinite
size, the various States being represented according to population
(five slaves being counted as the equal of three free men), with a
minimum of one Representative to every State. The Representatives
were to be elected every 2 years, the electors being the same as the
electors for "the most numerous branch" of the legislatures of the
respective States. The Senate, on the other hand, was to be composed
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the State legislatures for
a term of 6 years, with the terms of one-third of the body expiring
every 2 years.
In the 150 years since the drafting of the Constitution the chief
changes that have been made in the selection of Members of Congress
have been: First, the gradual development of universal manhood
suffrage for the election of Representatives; second, the substitution,
by the seventeenth amendment, of direct election of Senators in
place of election by the State legislatures; third, the adoption of
universal adult suffrage (the nineteenth amendment), applying both
to the election of Representatives and to the election of Senators. The
243
Civil War amendments, by abolishing slavery, removed the provision
that five slaves shall be counted as the equal of three free men.
Finally the growth of population and the increase in the number
of States have brought about a House of Representatives of 435
Members and a Senate of 96 Members.
The primary function of Congress is legislation in the field of
Federal jurisdiction as laid down in the Constitution (including
exclusive jurisdiction over the District of Columbia). In this func¬
tion both Houses are of equal power, the concurrence of both being
necessary to the submission of legislation to the President for his
approval or veto. Under the Constitution, money bills must origi¬
nate in the lower House, which originally was the only House elected
directly by the people. This provision from the beginning had only
a formal significance inasmuch as the Senate has always been free
to amend bills (i. e., proposed legislation), and the reason for this
provision has practically disappeared with the direct election of
Senators. After bills are passed by both Houses, the President has
10 days (exclusive of Sundays) in which to give his veto or approval.
If no action is taken by the President during the 10-day period and
Congress is still in session, the bill or bills in question automatically
become law, just as if the President had signed them. If Congress
shall have adjourned in the interval, the bills that are not acted upon
by the President die—a procedure often called a "pocket veto."
Bills returned with the President's veto may be enacted into law if
they are repassed by a two-thirds majority of both Houses.
In addition to the legislative power, Congress has the power of
proposing constitutional amendments by a two-thirds majority of
both Houses; it must also call a constitutional convention to propose
amendments whenever two-thirds of the State legislatures demand
it. Proposed amendments do not become a part of the Constitution
unless ratified by three-fourths of the States, acting through legisla¬
tures or through State conventions called for that purpose. All of
the amendments that have ever been proposed have been proposed by
a two-thirds vote of Congress and the amendments ratified have,
with one exception, been ratified by the action of the State legisla¬
tures. The exception is the twenty-first amendment (prohibition re¬
peal), the text of which specified ratification by special State con¬
ventions. The speed which attended this method of ratification
makes it likely that it will be used frequently for future proposed
amendments.
In the powers thus far enumerated, the two Houses stand on a
substantially equal footing. The Constitution, however, has given
244
certain additional powers to the Senate without any corresponding
additional powers to the House of Representatives. Because of its
smaller size, the Senate was regarded by the founding fathers as a
sort of privy council, and for that reason it was given the power of
confirming (or refusing to confirm) the President's nominations for
all statutory appointive offices. The Constitution also provided that
all foreign treaties must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the
Senate. These two exclusive prerogatives of the Senate make the
so-called upper House of Congress a dominant force in all appoint¬
ments to the executive branch of the Government and in foreign
relations.
In impeachment proceedings, which, according to the Constitution,
may be started against the President, Vice President, and all civil
officers of the United States, the duties are divided between the two
Houses. The House of Representatives prepares the actual impeach¬
ment or making of charges, while the Senate sits as the court to try
the impeachment, a two-thirds vote being necessary for conviction.
In an impeachment trial of a President, the Chief Justice presides
but does not vote.
INTERNAL ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE
The two Houses of Congress are similar but not identical in internal
organization. The Constitution provides that the Vice President of
the United States shall preside over the Senate (he has no vote, how¬
ever, save to break a tie). The House of Representatives elects its own
presiding officer—the Speaker. The Senate elects a President pro
tempore, who presides in the absence of the Vice President and who
becomes the permanent presiding officer in case of a vacancy in the
Vice President's office (e. g., when the Vice President becomes Presi¬
dent of the United States). Both Houses have a number of other
elected officials, such as the Clerk of the House, the Secretary of the
Senate, and a Sergeant at Arms for each House. A number of minor
officials are appointed by the presiding officers.
The outstanding characteristic both in the organization and in the
functioning of Congress, is found in the committee system. Both
Houses have always been too large to be able to transact business
successfully without preliminary analysis by committees. It is
in committees that the real work of shaping legislation is accom¬
plished, and it is committee work that absorbs most of the time of
the Members of the two Houses of Congress—for every Senator and
every Congressman is assigned to one or more committees.
245
There are over 30 standing committees in the Senate and nearly 50 in
the House of Representatives. In addition there are a number of spe¬
cial and select committees in each House appointed at particular ses¬
sions of Congress, and also "conference committees" appointed to iron
out differences between the t wo Houses in regard to particular bills.
The personnel of standing committees for each House is chosen
by a vote of the entire body, while the other committees are named
by the presiding officers. In actual fact the assignments to the
standing committees are determined by the majority and minority
party leaderships in the two Houses. Every committee is bipartisan
in its membership, the representation of the two parties depending
on the size of the committee and on the representation of the two
parties in the legislative chambers as a whole.
The chairmanships of the standing committees are chosen formally
by vote of the legislative chambers as a whole. In practice the un¬
written rule of seniority of service is followed, the ranking member
of the majority party on every committee becoming chairman of his
committee. When the same man is ranking member in more than one
committee, he chooses the chairmanship which he desires and the
members next in line on the other committees succeed to the
chairmanship.
In its influence on the limitation of legislative debate, committee
organization plays a more dominant role in the House of Representa¬
tives than in the Senate. The House of Representatives is far too
large to permit debate on the floor of the House, and the result is that
the rules are so framed as to grind out the legislative work in com¬
mittees, leaving only final action for the body as a whole. Thus,
although all Members are free to introduce bills, all bills are referred
to appropriate committees, which have in practice, though not in
theory, the power of "killing a bill in committee." When a committee
holds a bill without reporting it out on the floor, the only recourse for
the sponsor of the bill is to secure a petition signed by a majority of
the total membership of the House for a motion to discharge the com¬
mittee. If the requisite number of signatures is secured and if the
motion to discharge the committee is passed, the bill comes before the
House for consideration on its merits.
When the House considers bills reported on by the various com¬
mittees, the procedure in the case of all important matters—includ¬
ing appropriation and tax bills—is to vote to go into a Committee
of the Whole and close debate. Under this rule the only debate
allowed is the privilege of speaking 5 minutes to offer an amendment
or to argue against an amendment.
246
In the Senate, which lias tried to maintain its tradition as a delib¬
erative body, the corresponding rules are far more liberal. Thus a
motion to discharge a committee from consideration of a bill must
merely lie over one day in order to receive consideration on the floor.
As regards debate, the Senate until 1917 enjoyed the unique position
of being without a rule for limiting discussion on the floor. It was
thus the prerogative of a Senator, either individually or in coopera¬
tion with a small group of fellow Senators, to be able to prevent
action by carrying on a "filibuster" or an indefinitely prolonged
speech bout until the session of Congress had to end by law or in
accordance with the previously announced intention of the legislative
leaders. Following the famous filibuster at the session of Congress
which expired on March 4, 1917—a filibuster denounced by President
Wilson as having been carried on by "a little group of wilful men"—
the Senate, in the special session which immediately followed, adopted
a cloture rule. This rule provides that a motion to close debate may
be submitted to the Presiding Officer provided it has the signatures of
16 Senators; the motion after being announced must then lie over
until the second succeeding calendar day, when it is submitted to
a yea-and-nay vote without debate. If two-thirds of those voting
decide in the affirmative, then no Senator may speak on the pending
measure more than 1 hour and the pending measure becomes the
unfinished business until disposed of.
Between 1917 and 1936 this cloture rule was invoked only four
times. The rule has not altogether done away with filibusters, but it
has limited their frequency, and has made the success of a filibuster
depend on the passive consent of more than one-third of the Senate
body.
247