Before we arrived in DC, we arranged for a tour of the Capitol building. We took the Metro down to the Capital station. Walking toward the Capitol Build brought back lots of memories for Leslie of her years of working on Capitol Hill in the 1980s. We walked into the new and spacious visitor center and collected our tickets. We wandered around looking at the statues in the visitors hall that are provided by the states for display. We then saw a movie on the capitol building before stepping out to meet our tour guide. None of this was available when Leslie was leading tours of the Capitol building. The two wings of the Capitol were built between 1807 and 1812. The wings were rebuilt after the British burned the original capitol build in 1814 and reopened in 1819. The oldest parts of the building are from that time period. The center of the capitol building was built between 1819 and 1826 when the center building was opened with a low wooden and cooper dome. The senate meet in the old senate chamber and the house in the old house chamber until 1857. By 1850, more states had joined the Union and it was decided to expand the Capitol to accommodate the additional representatives. The current House and Senate chambers were occupied in 1857 and 1859 respectively. The current iron and marble dome of the Capitol build was completed in 1864. The external house and senate office buildings (3 each) were built to accommodate the expanding offices. The Old House Chamber was turned into the National Statuary Hall with two statues that are donated by each state. The statues are changed out by the states on a regular basis (there were two new statues from just the previous week). The old senate chamber is left as a museum piece. We toured the Old House and Senate Chambers and the rotunda. Leslie said that she used to show a lot more of the Capitol. The Architecture is gorgeous. We were not allowed to see the current House or Senate chambers due to security. It was interesting to see the halls of DC Power. Following the tour, we went to one of Leslie’s old hangouts to have an early dinner before taking the metro back to College Park.
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| Library of Congress |
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| Statue that was used to make the casting of the Statue of Freedom which is at the top of the Capitol Dome |
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| Visitor Center |
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| Looking up at the Capitol Dome |
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| Old Senate Chamber |
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| Old House Chamber |
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