DOCSLIB.ORG

US Capitol in Washington, D.C

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
US Capitol in Washington, D.C US Capitol in Washington, D.C. The US Capitol houses the meeting chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the two bodies that compose the legislative branch of the US government. The construction of the Capitol began in 1793 and the original building was completed in 1826. The building of the U.S. Capitol boasts of an impressive architecture and its symbolical importance. It also houses a museum of American art and history. Approximately 3-5 million people from all around the globe visit the U.S. Capitol every year. The architectural design of the building is based upon 19th-century neoclassical architecture that coalesces both function with aesthetics. Its bearings on the Greek and Roman design evoke the ideals that guided the nation's founders in framing of their new republic. During the expansion of the original design, the symphony with the existing parts was cautiously preserved. The building of the Capitol has five levels. The ground floor has committee rooms and the places allocated to several congressional officers. On this level, the visitors have access to the Brumidi Corridors, Hall of Columns, the restored Old Supreme Court Chamber, and the Crypt beneath the Rotunda housing historical exhibits. The second floor is occupied by the Chambers of the House of Representatives (in the south wing) and the Senate (in the north wing) along with certain offices of the congressional leadership. There are three public areas on this level. The first one, the Rotunda, acts as a gallery of paintings and sculpture depicting people and events of the historical significance. The semicircular chamber south of the Rotunda functioned as the Hall of the House until 1857; now converted to the National Statuary Hall that houses some of the Capitol's collection of statues presented by the states in remembrance of notable citizens. Lastly, there is the Old Senate Chamber situated on the northeast of the Rotunda. The Senate used it until 1859, but now it has been brought back to its older appearance of the 19th century. The third floor provides access to the galleries from where the visitors to the Capitol Building may watch the proceedings of the House and the Senate when Congress is in session. The rest of the third floor constitute the press galleries, offices and committee rooms. The fourth floor as well as the basement/terrace level of the building have machinery rooms, offices, workshops and other support areas. US Capitol Map US Capitol Building Map US Capitol Facts The extensions and new dome were finished in 1868. Its length from north to south is 751 feet 4-inches, while the greatest width of the building is 350 feet. Its height above the base line on the east front to the top of Statue of Freedom is 288 feet. President George Washington selected the design of the U.S. Capitol building. Where is US Capitol ? The US Capitol is located in Washington, D.C., atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. The nearest airports are Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. You can reach the Capitol by your own vehicle. However, there is very limited public parking available near the Capitol. So it is advisable to choose a subway or a bus. There are three subway stops nearby viz. Union Station located at First Street, NW, and Massachusetts Avenue, Capitol South located at First Street between C and D Streets, SE. And Federal Center, SW located at the southwest corner of Third and D Streets, SW. Best time to visit US Capitol You can visit the Capitol throughout the year. It is advisable to book your tour in advance. US Capitol Hours The opening hours of the Capitol Visitor Center for visitors are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday except for Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day, Christmas Day, and Inauguration Day. The tour timings for the U.S. Capitol are from 8:50 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., Monday through Saturday. US Capitol Tickets Tours of the U.S. Capitol are free. The visitors are required to get tour passes for the entry. More about US Capitol Nearby Attractions: Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, Library of Congress, Bartholdi Park and Fountain, National Air and Space museum, National Mall, Union Station, and US Supreme Court building. mapsofworld.com provides Interesting Information about Tourist Destinations from across the world. Visit : http://www.mapsofworld.com.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Landscape Medallion in Washington State
    Architect of the Capitol Landscape medallion (detail), Brumidi Corridors. Brumidi’s landscape medallions relate to the federally sponsored Pacific Railroad Report and depict scenes from the American West, such as this view of Mount Baker in Washington State. The “MostBrumidi’s Landscapes andPracticable the Transcontinental Railroad ”Route Amy Elizabeth Burton or 150 years, senators, dignitaries, and visitors to the U.S. Capitol have bustled past 8 Flandscape medallions prominently located in the reception area of the Brumidi Corridors on the first floor of the Senate wing. For most of this time, very little was understood about these scenes of rivers and mountains. The locations depicted in the landscapes and any relevance the paintings once held had long faded from memory. The art of the Capitol is deeply rooted in symbolism and themes that reflect national pride, which strongly suggested that the medallions’ significance extended beyond their decorative value. Ultimately, a breakthrough in scholarship identified the long-forgotten source of the eight landscapes and reconnected them to their his- torical context: a young nation exploring and uniting a vast continent, as well as a great national issue that was part of this American narrative—the first transcontinental railroad. THE “MOST PRACTICABLE” ROUTE 53 Starting in 1857, the Brumidi Corridors in the newly con- From roughly 1857 to 1861, Brumidi and his team structed Senate wing of the Capitol buzzed with artistic of artists decorated the expansive Brumidi Corridors activity. Development of the mural designs for the Sen- with Brumidi’s designs, while one floor above, the Senate ate’s lobbies and halls fell to artist Constantino Brumidi, deliberated about the building of the nation’s first trans- under the watchful eye of Montgomery C.
    [Show full text]
  • Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) Inventory Listing the Numerous BEP Historical Postage Stamp Production Folders, 2016
    Description of document: Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) inventory listing the numerous BEP historical postage stamp production folders, 2016 Requested date: 19-January-2016 Released date: 01-February-2016 Posted date: 28-March-2016 Source of document: Disclosure Officer Bureau of Engraving and Printing Office of the Chief Counsel - FOIA and Transparency Services 14th & C Streets, SW, Room 419A Washington, D.C. 20228-0001 Fax: (202) 874-2951 The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING WESTERN CURRENCY FACILITY FORT WORTH, TEXAS 76131 February 1, 2016 FOIA/PA Request No.
    [Show full text]
  • The Building As Completed, from Walter's Designs
    CHAPTER XVI THE BUILDING AS COMPLETED, FROM WALTER’S DESIGNS DWARD CLARK supervised the completion of the Capitol the old Senate Chamber being devoted to the court room and the west from the designs of Thomas U. Walter, leaving the building as front being used by the court officials for office and robing rooms.1 it stands to-day. The terraces on the west, north, and south are The attic story [Plate 223] is so arranged in each wing that the a part of the general landscape scheme of Frederick Law Olm- public has access from its corridors to the galleries of the House and Ested. The building consists of the central or old building, and two wings, Senate Chambers, with provision for the press and committee rooms or the Capitol extension, with the new Dome on the old building. facing the exterior walls of the building. Document rooms are also pro- The cellar [Plate 220] contained space on the central western vided on this floor. extension available for office and committee rooms. Other portions of Plates 224, 225, 225a show the eastern front of the building as the cellar are given up to the heating and ventilating apparatus, or are completed, the principal new features being the porticoes on the wings, used for storage. Beneath the center of the Dome a vault was built in which are similar to the central portico designed by Latrobe. Although the cellar to contain the remains of George Washington, but because of the original design of Thornton contemplated a central portico he did the objection of the family to his burial in the Capitol his body never not contemplate the broad flight of steps which extends to the ground rested in the contemplated spot.
    [Show full text]
  • Local Arrangements Guide for 2020
    SCS/AIA DC-area Local Arrangements Guide Contributors: • Norman Sandridge (co-chair), Howard University • Katherine Wasdin (co-chair), University of Maryland, College Park • Francisco Barrenechea, University of Maryland, College Park • Victoria Pedrick, Georgetown University • Elise Friedland, George Washington University • Brien Garnand, Howard University • Carolivia Herron, Howard University • Sarah Ferrario, Catholic University This guide contains information on the history of the field in the DC area, followed by things to do in the city with kids, restaurants within walking distance of the hotel and convention center, recommended museums, shopping and other entertainment activities, and two classically-themed walking tours of downtown DC. 2 History: In the greater Washington-Baltimore area classics has deep roots both in academics of our area’s colleges and universities and in the culture of both cities. From The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore—with one of the oldest graduate programs in classics in the country to the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA, classicists and archaeologists are a proud part of the academic scene, and we take pleasure in inviting you during the SCS and AIA meetings to learn more about the life and heritage of our professions. In Maryland, the University of Maryland at College Park has strong programs and offers graduate degrees in classical languages, ancient history, and ancient philosophy. But classics also flourishes at smaller institutions such as McDaniel College in Westminster, MD, and the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Right in the District of Columbia itself you will find four universities with strong ties to the classics through their undergraduate programs: The Catholic University of America, which also offers a PhD, Howard University, Georgetown University, and The Georgetown Washington University.
    [Show full text]
  • Visual Silence: African American Voices in Washington, Dc's
    VISUAL SILENCE: AFRICAN AMERICAN VOICES IN WASHINGTON, DC’S COMMEMORATIVE FORMATIONS by MEGAN IRENE FITZMAURICE (Under the Direction of Belinda A. Stillion Southard) ABSTRACT This thesis puts forward a rhetorical investigation of the visual and racial politics at play in Washington, DC’s commemorative formations. Specifically, this thesis looks to the Capitol Rotunda, National Statuary Hall, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in order to understand how three major forms of racism—institutional, symbolic, and postracial—shape and are shaped by these formations. A theory of visual silence helps to expose how and in what forms such racism works to simultaneously invoke and suppress the visual voice of African Americans in the nation’s most honored spaces. Visual silence reveals that while African Americans have played an integral role in shaping civic life and national identity in the United States, because we cannot visualize their voices in the same tangible ways in which white Americans are portrayed in the country’s commemorative spaces, their history, achievement, and significance are nearly silenced from the national narrative. INDEX WORDS: Visual Rhetoric, Public Memory, Voice, Silence, Race VISUAL SILENCE: AFRICAN AMERICAN VOICES IN WASHINGTON, DC’S COMMEMORATIVE FORMATIONS by MEGAN IRENE FITZMAURICE B.A., Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, 2010 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2013 © 2013 Megan Irene Fitzmaurice All Rights Reserved VISUAL SILENCE: AFRICAN AMERICAN VOICES IN WASHINGTON, DC’S COMMEMORATIVE FORMATIONS by MEGAN IRENE FITZMAURICE Major Professor: Belinda A.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to the U.S. Capitol and Take-Home Activity Book for Children
    LEARN • • E C R O O L N P N X E C E T U . S . C C A . A Capitol D P I , T N O L TO G Adventure • WASHIN A Guide to the U.S. Capitol and Take-Home Activity Book for Children The U.S. Capitol is over 200 years old! It was built a long time ago. Then, we were a small country. Today, the United States is a large nation of 50 states. Are you ready to learn about the Capitol? Let’s begin! Visit the U.S. Capitol! Why do visitors come here? Why is the U.S. Capitol a special building? The people who write the nation’s rules, called laws, work in the U.S. Capitol. We call the group of people who write the laws Congress. Every state sends people 1. to work in Congress. In the space below, write two rules you follow at home and at school. 2. Photographs by Architect of the Capitol Welcome to the Capitol Visitor Center! A statue is a carved figure. The Statue of Freedom welcomes you to the Capitol. She is over 19 feet tall! Freedom stands on the top of the rounded roof, called a dome. Walk into Exhibition Hall. The entrance is behind the Statue of Freedom. You can touch a model of the Capitol Dome! Can you find Freedom on the model? A Capitol Adventure: Guide to the U.S. Capitol and Take-Home Activity 1 See The Crypt! A Visitor Guide leads your tour. The Visitor Guide takes you to the oldest parts of the Capitol.
    [Show full text]
  • ALLA CORRENTE Constantino Brumidi
    ALLA CORRENTE Constantino Brumidi Constantino Brumidi (July 26, 1805 - February 19, 1880) was a Greek/Italian-American historical painter, best known and honored for his fresco work in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. He was born in Rome; his father was Greek and his mother was Italian. After studying at the Italian Academy of Arts, he showed his talent for fresco painting and painted in several Roman palaces, among them that of Prince Torlonia. Under Pope Gregory XVI he worked for three years in the Vatican as a fresco artist. The occupation of Rome by French forces in 1849 apparently convinced Brumidi that he had to emigrate. He had joined the short-lived Roman Republic of the Risorgimento and with its collapse he saw that there was no future for him or his artistic talent in Rome. So he sailed for the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1852 at the age of forty-seven. Taking up his residence in New York City, he painted a number of portraits. Following these, he undertook more important works, the primary one being a fresco of the Crucifixion in St. Stephen’s Church, for which he also painted a Martyrdom of St. Stephen and an Assumption of Mary. He also painted frescoes at Taylor’s Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1854 Brumidi went to Mexico, where he painted an allegorical representation of the Holy Trinity in the cathedral of Mexico City. On his way back to New York, he stopped in Washington, DC and visited the U.S. Capitol.
    [Show full text]
  • Decorative Ceilings Are Back, Opening up a Hot New Niche
    Beaux Artes Melanie Kershner puts the finishing touches on a corner ceiling ornament, which she had attached by drilling holes through the centers of several flowers. Kershner then glued Swarovski colored crystals in the drill holes and touched up the paint. Decorative ceilings LookingUp are back, opening up a hot new niche. By Eileen Smith Dallabrida all it “the fifth wall.” air conditioning vents, ceiling deco- dining room. A subtle wash in shades An artfully decorated ration was a hallmark of a fashionable of umber can soften the harsh lines of ceiling can top off any home. Plaster ornamentation in- a typical white “bed sheet” ceiling. project, elevating an eye- cluded opulent ceiling medallions An image of a vintage map, enlarged catching room to a spec- and moldings. The Victorians reveled and replicated, brings distinction to tacular space. in lavish wallpapers applied in mul- the ceiling of a cozy study. “A beautiful ceiling is, literally, the tiple patterns. Michael William Kirby, of Murals crowning touch,” says Thea Holmes of Today, the trend toward tray ceil- of Baltimore LLC, transformed a plain Fauxcus on Walls in suburban Wash- ings in modern houses is helping to vanilla coffered ceiling with faux bois ington, D.C. return attention to the surface over- beams detailed with stenciling in an Whether finished as a stand-alone head, resulting in more opportunities ornate Byzantine pattern. Cproject or part of a larger job, decora- for decorative painters. “Many times, we use the ceiling to tive ceilings are more popular than Options for ceilings cover the spec- create an illusion of more space with ever.
    [Show full text]
  • Rediscovering the Art of Constantino Brumidi / Compiled by Amy Elizabeth Burton
    To RediscoveringMake the ArtBeautiful of Constantino Brumidi the Capitol To RediscoveringMake the ArtBeautiful of Constantino Brumidi the Capitol To RediscoveringMake the ArtBeautiful of Constantino Brumidi the Capitol Compiled by Amy Elizabeth Burton Prepared under the direction of the U.S. Senate Commission on Art U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C. : 2014 113th Congress, 2nd Session S. Pub 113–10 Printed pursuant to 2 USC 2102(a) U.S. Senate Commission on Art Chairman: Harry Reid, Nevada Vice Chairman: Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Charles E. Schumer, New York Pat Roberts, Kansas Executive Secretary: Nancy Erickson Curator: Diane K. Skvarla Works of art illustrated are by Constantino Brumidi unless otherwise noted. Illustrations are from the records of the Office of Senate Curator except where other collection or photography credits are provided. Principal photography by James Rosenthal, courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol. Photography credits appear on pages 130–31. Images have been used with the consent of their respective owners. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data To make beautiful the Capitol : rediscovering the art of Constantino Brumidi / compiled by Amy Elizabeth Burton. – – 1st [edition]. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. “Prepared under the direction of the U.S. Senate Commission on Art.” 1. Brumidi, Constantino, 1805–1880––Criticism and interpretation. 2. United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) 3. Mural painting and decoration, American––Washington (D.C.)––19th century. 4. Mural painting and decoration–– Conservation and restoration––Washington (D.C.) I. Burton, Amy Elizabeth. II. Cunningham–Adams, Christiana.
    [Show full text]
  • THOLOS Spring 2018
    VOLUME VOLUME 8 SPRING 2018 FEATURE: EVOLUTION OF WOMEN IN ART AT THE U.S. CAPITOL COOL TOOLS: BUMP CAPS PROFILE IN HISTORY: JOB W. ANGUS FEATURE: An in-depth look at the evolution of women in 6 art at the U.S. Capitol. In This Issue 15 1 ARCHITECT’S NOTEBOOK BEHIND THE SCENES: Learn more about how our 2 PROFILE IN HISTORY employees care for the historic Job W. Angus floors in the Senate. 6 FEATURE The Evolution of Women in Art at the U.S. Capitol 15 BEHIND THE SCENES Restoration and Care of Historic Marble Floors BY THE NUMBERS: 17 BY THE NUMBERS A look at the Capitol Visitor Center’s busiest season. Capitol Visitor Center 20 COOL TOOLS Making Heads Safer, 17 One Bump Cap at a Time COOL TOOLS: Read how this cool cap is keeping Capitol Building employees safer. COVER: A detailed view of the U.S. Capitol’s Statue of Freedom. 20 Photo illustration by Michael Dunn Photo by James Rosenthal ARCHITECT’S NOTEBOOK Finding Comfort In Balance t is human nature to try to find order and balance in and is topped off with intricate details of the entablature our surroundings. One of the ways I do this in my with its projecting cornice. own life is to be as organized as possible. My desk Architectural balance is also often achieved through Iis proof of this as it is always arranged neatly with symmetry. In the Main Reading Room, the art, decoration nothing out of place. This gives me a sense of ease so I and sculpture reinforce a sense of order by the strong can focus on other tasks at hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Zodiac Ceilings in the Foreign Office, London
    COSMOKRATOR NEWSLETTER 2014 Asia Haleem ZODIAC CEILINGS IN THE FOREIGN OFFICE, LONDON On a recent tour of London’s Foreign Office in Whitehall (when on a rare occasion it was made accessible to members of the National Art Collections Fund) I was particularly struck by the two magnificent painted zodiacs dating from the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, only recently restored to their former glory (see later pictures). I pondered how for the British Government of those periods the zodiacs must have had relevance – backed by the Christian religion – indicating an acknowledgement of those Higher Powers (termed by the poet John Betjeman ‘THE MANAGEMENT’) invoked to aid and the judgement and decisions of ordinary mortals. For this short piece I decided to compare an interestingly similar use of zodiacs in Government buildings - in an equivalent period and beyond – in Washington DC, Federal Capital of the USA - as described by Ovason1. Rear view of the Foreign Office from St James’s Park, London This account lays in the art historical background against which, through overall accounts of the zodiac designs and a few pictures, I hope to inspire the reader to root out for themselves the details of these outstanding zodiacs through the books and websites cited, or by actual visits to the rooms. I do not need here to follow the long and tortuous story2 of the different stages of the building of the Foreign Office itself (it shared its roof with the India and Commonwealth Offices at other corners through connecting doors) which over the years involved competition designs submitted by over a hundred different architects’ firms.
    [Show full text]
  • 062-321/Chapter09 R2
    CHAPTER NINE CALM AND CALAMITY ith Captain Meigs out of the pic- ing that the secretary of war had treated Meigs ture, Walter’s professional life badly. Like most people in Washington, he was well W returned to normal. He was not aware of Floyd’s glaring faults, his lack of integrity, acquainted with William B. Franklin but believed and unscrupulous political practices, and Franklin their relationship could only be an improvement feared that his own reputation would become over the past. Work on the dome could now resume tainted by a close association with him. Yet the and the extension could proceed under agreeable appointment brought welcome prestige to his circumstances. Yet, just as peace in the office was career and his corps. “The change is pleasant in one restored, ominous clouds of war were getting respect,” Franklin wrote, “that it shows to the other thicker. Hotheads on both sides of the slavery issue Corps that they are not the only people in the Army fired the rhetoric to the boiling point and prospects who can do things, and that their clay is not entirely for the nation’s future were looking ever more bleak. superior to that of which other men are made.” 2 Just as the Capitol extension office entered an ami- For his part Meigs was concerned about Franklin’s cable period, belligerents north and south were untested political instincts and worried that he was careening headlong into a fratricidal bloodbath. unaware of the many dangers surrounding the job.3 Captain Franklin of the Corps of Topographical Yet Franklin was not a total stranger to the ways of Engineers came to Washington in the fall of 1857 the capital city.
    [Show full text]