View allAll Photos Tagged USCapitolBuilding
Marble busts of the earliest chief justices have been returned to their original locations in the room. In order of service, those represented are: John Jay (1789-1795), John Rutledge (1795), Oliver Ellsworth (1796-1800), and John Marshall (1801-1835).
The unusual ceiling is formed by nine lobed vaults held by stone ribs supported by heavy brick piers and a three-bay arcade built parallel to the old east wall. The new masonry ceiling did not impose any additional weight or put new lateral pressure on the old walls and thus was supported independently of the old work. It was daring to attempt such a ceiling over a one-story room and clever for not using the old walls for support. It is one of Latrobe’s most admired achievements.
In recognition of his service in the Old Supreme Court Chamber, a bust of Roger B. Taney (1836-1864) is on view in the Robing Room.
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, Politician
The design of the carpet was taken from a posthumous portrait of John Marshall, painted in 1858 by W.D. Washington. The artist incorporated details from the mid-19th century Supreme Court chamber in this portrait, a copy of which hangs in the House wing of the Capitol.
The US National Capitol building rotunda, as seen from near the west side fountain near the base. Taken near sunset on 16 July 2011.
George Clinton
This statue of George Clinton was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by New York in 1873. Clinton was the first governor of the state of New York.
•Artist: Henry Kirke Brown
•Material: Bronze
•State: Given by New York in 1873
•Location: Old Senate Chamber Vestibule, Old Senate Wing, U.S. Capitol
George Clinton was born on July 26, 1739, to an Irish family that had immigrated to Little Britain, a small town near the Hudson River. His father, a member of the New York colonial assembly, was his political inspiration and tutor. At age eighteen Clinton enlisted in the British Army to fight in the French and Indian War. Later he studied law, was appointed clerk of the court of common pleas, and served in the State assembly.
Elected to serve in the Continental Congress, Clinton voted for the Declaration of Independence but was called by Washington to serve as brigadier general of militia and had to leave before the signing occurred. In 1777 Clinton became the first governor of New York and served until 1795. He was also known for his hatred of the Tories and was partially able to keep taxes down through seizure and sale of Tory estates. A supporter and friend of George Washington, he supplied food to the troops at Valley Forge. Clinton rode with Washington to the first Inauguration and gave an impressive dinner to celebrate the occasion. However, this friendship did not influence Clinton’s politics; he did not support the adoption of the Constitution until the Bill of Rights was added.
He served again as governor of New York from 1801 to 1804 and as vice president under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Clinton died in Washington on April 20, 1812, and was buried there; in 1908 he was reinterred at Kingston, New York.
Samuel Adams
This statue of Samuel Adams was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Massachusetts in 1876. Adams served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1781, where he voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence. He is often referred to as the “Father of the American Revolution.”
•Artist: Anne Whitney
•Material: Marble
•State: Given by Massachusetts in 1876
•Location: Crypt, U.S. Capitol
Born in Boston on September 27, 1722, Samuel Adams entered Harvard at the age of 14 and received his degree in 1740. There he was profoundly affected by John Locke’s doctrine that “every citizen is endowed with natural rights to life, liberty, and property.” By 1763 Adams was a member of the secret Caucus Club, through which a small number of Boston’s leaders controlled the decisions of the town meeting.
In 1765, John Hancock and Samuel Adams founded the Sons of Liberty. Adams led the opposition to the Sugar Act in 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Townshend Acts of 1767. In 1772 he was one of the leading forces behind the Non-Importation Association and the Boston Tea Party. He initiated the Massachusetts committee of correspondence and drafted the Boston declaration of rights. Adams served as a member of the Massachusetts General Court from 1765 to 1775 and as a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1781, where he voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence.
Adams returned to Boston in 1781 to serve in the state senate. His influence diminished after the revolution. He was defeated in a bid for Congress in 1788, but he became a member of the convention to ratify the Constitution. From 1789 to 1793 Adams served as lieutenant governor under John Hancock; he served as governor from 1794 to 1797.
“The Father of the American Revolution” retired from public life in 1797. He died in Boston on October 2, 1803.
Corinthian Columns
Corinthian columns are the most ornate, slender and sleek of the three Greek orders. They are distinguished by a decorative, bell-shaped capital with volutes, two rows of acanthus leaves and an elaborate cornice. In many instances, the column is fluted. Columns in this style can be found inside and outside of the buildings on Capitol Hill, including the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court Building, the Russell Senate Office Building, the Cannon House Office Building and the Library of Congress.
The exterior of the Capitol Building contains examples of a modified Corinthian column style, including the East Front center portico and the West Front. On the first floor of the Capitol’s House wing is the dramatic, high ceilinged Hall of Columns, which takes its name from the twenty-eight fluted, white marble columns that line the corridor.
The column capitals are a variation on the Corinthian order, incorporating not only classical acanthus leaves but also thistles and native American tobacco plants. Earlier uses of American vegetation in the building’s capitals include Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s corncob capitals in a first-floor vestibule and his tobacco-leaf capitals in the Small Senate Rotunda.
The Supreme Court Building was designed in the classical Corinthian architectural style, selected to harmonize with the nearby congressional buildings. Its monumental entrance, facing the U.S. Capitol Building, contains a central temple-like pavilion fronted by a monumental portico with sixteen Corinthian marble columns that support an elaborate entablature and pediment.
In the Cannon House Office Building and Russell Senate Office Building, their identical rotundas contain eighteen Corinthian columns that support an entablature and a coffered dome, and whose glazed oculus floods the rotunda with natural light.
Car of History Clock
This marble sculpture, created in 1819, is among the oldest works of art in the U.S. Capitol. It depicts Clio, the muse of History, holding a book in which she records events as they unfold.
•Artist: Carlo Franzoni
•Medium: Marble
•Date: 1819
•Location: National Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol
Clio, the muse of History, stands in a winged chariot, or car, representing the passage of time. The car rests on a marble globe on which signs of the Zodiac are carved in relief. The chariot wheel is the face of the clock; its works, installed in 1837, are by Simon Willard.
The room in which the sculpture stands was originally the Hall of the House of Representatives. The House moved to its present chamber in 1857, and in 1864 the room was set aside for the display of statues donated by the states; today, it is known as National Statuary Hall.
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us
Tea Party Photos, Washington DC, 03/20/2010, US Capitol Building, Healthcare Reform, Kill the Bill, R[evolution] Photography,
TeaPartyMovement.us, FoxNews, Jon Voight
The crimson and gold color scheme seen in the canopy and modesty screens is repeated throughout the Chamber. Crimson drapery swags secured with gilt stars adorn the visitors’ galleries.
snowy day on capitol hill
i love photoshop. this photo was even more grey before i played with it.
notice the tiny security forces on the roof
Lincoln the Legislator by Avard Fairbanks stands to the right of the Amateis doors. It recalls Lincoln’s single term in Congress which started in 1847. In his 1860 autobiography, Lincoln explained that he “was not a candidate for reelection. This was determined upon and declared before he went to Washington, in accordance with an understanding among Whig friends, by which Colonel Hardin and Colonel Baker had each previously served a single term in this same district.”
His law partner, William H. Herndon, recalled, “With the close of Lincoln’s Congressional career he drops out of sight as a political factor … He did not solicit or contend for a renomination to Congress, and such was the unfortunate result of his position on public questions that it is doubtful if he could have succeeded had he done so.”
The inscription, edited and formatted for clarity, reads:
Lincoln the Legislator