Touring the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Eric ordered tickets online in December, 2014 to ensure we will tour the U.S. Capitol during our visit.

Eric's ready for a tour

 of the Capitol.

Much needed repair of the Capitol Dome is underway.  The repairs must be completed and the scaffolding taken down before January, 2017, when the next President is inaugurated.

Eric & I line up with our
paperwork to collect our
tickets for a Capitol Tour
at the Visitors Center.

Thousands of people visit

the U.S. Capitol on Monday

through Saturday.

Many just walk in and get tickets for a tour.

The model of the Statue
of Freedom that sits
atop the Capitol Dome.

After watching an introductory film, Eric and I line up and wait for our tour guide, Matt.  Our first stop is The Crypt.  It was built as the resting place for George Washington, the first elected president of the United States.

No one is buried beneath the

star shaped marker.

George Washington is entombed

at his home at Mount Vernon.

Each state has two statues in the Capitol.

Robert Livingston

from New York

Groups of tourists view

paintings & carvings in

 the Rotunda.

The artwork in this room

details the history of the U.S.

The interior of the dome
is partially shrouded
while repairs are
being done.






The Apotheosis of George Washington by Italian painter, Constantino Brumidi, depicts the first elected President rising into heaven, in glory.

Roman Gods line the outer

perimeter of the fresco, leading

 to George Washington.at

its apex.

George Washington is
elevated to the leader
with the most admired
qualities...  humility,
thoughtfulness.






Beneath the dome, eleven presidents have lain in state before burial.  Deceased Congress members, military officers, two Capital Police who died in the line of duty and Rosa Parks have lain in honor here.

General, then President

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Kansas

The statue of Martin
Luther King was added
by an act of Congress.

The former House of Representatives has been

renamed National Statuary Hall.

As more states entered the Union, this historic room became two small for the growing number of legislators.  Additions to the Capitol were built.in the 1850s to remedy the overcrowding.

I look up & see the Chamber's

 domed ceiling.

Pennsylvania's Robert Fulton

is honored for his engineering

skills on the Erie Canal.

The tour group stands around

the spot where John Q. Adams'

desk once stood & learn about

the acoustics of this room.

You can overhear conversations

from across the room.

John Quincy Adams served as President from 1825 to 1829.  He then ran for Congress and served in the House of Representatives from 1803 to 1809 and again from 1831 to 1848.  John Quincy Adams collapsed at his desk on February 21, 1848 and died two days later.

The statue of Rosa Parks

is in Statuary Hall by

an act of Congress.

Dr. John Gorrie of Florida

aided development of that

state by pushing to have

insect infested swamps drained.

Forceful orator, lawyer. U.S.

Representative, Senator,

Secretary of State

 Daniel Webster

New Hampshire

Arizona's Barry Goldwater
looks on as Matt collects
our headphones.

As we leave National Statuary

Hall, Eric & I pass the Office of

Speaker of the House of

Representatives John Boehner.

I toured the Capitol in 1973 and remember going to the House of Representatives and Senate Chambers' visitors galleries.

Our group returns to
the Capitol Visitors
Center.

My last photo of the

U.S. Capitol.

What's next?  Let's go to a museum.