United States Capitol

Introduction

In this new post, I am going to talk to you about one of the most famous and influential symbols of democracy in the world, the United States Capitol. The Capitol is situated in the American capital, Washington D. C. (how could it not be? ), and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the city.

The Capitol has been, and still is, the legislative heart of the United States of America for more than 200 years. And it's not only for the extremely important function that it has that makes it so famous, but it's also for the exterior facade of the building (as well as the interior, if I'm honest). The Capitol is an architectural jewel that has become of the symbols of Washington D. C., together with the White House, the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.

The Capitol Building

The Capitol Building is located in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood, and is used as guide for dividing Washington D. C. into four parts: north-west, south-west, north-east and south-east. It sits at one of the far ends of the National Mall, just in line with the Washington Monument, the Second World War Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. The Capitol's land covers more than 23 hectares, which accounts for the building itself, its gardens, and the surrounding roads.

This building is one of the most important examples of American Neoclassical architecture. It was designed by William Thornton, but it later underwent modification and repair works by other architects. Its construction began in 1793 and was inaugurated in 1800, but since then, it hasn't stopped being modified or restored. In fact, nowadays, the dome is being restored, and until 2017, we are going to have to look at with scaffolding on, which I don't like at all.

The building is divided into three different parts, with a dome in the centre that separates each wing (the Senate is situated in the north wing, and the House of Representatives in the south).

The dome is one of the largest in the entire world, and is the most important element of the Capitol building, and is ultimately what best characterises it. The dome is made of molten iron and it appears to be divided into three horizontal sections. It is crowned by the Statue of Liberty, and you can see a plaster model of this statue inside of the Capitol itself.

The Capitol was actually burnt down by the British during the War of 1812, just like other emblematic buildings in Washington D. C., and the building suffered huge damages. This fire is more commonly known as the 'Burning of Washington', and it was an event that deeply affected numerous citizens of the United States. The building's restoration works didn't begin until three years after the fire took place.

And, in the 2001 terrorist attacks, one of the planes hijacked by Al Qaeda was originally intended to target this building, but after passengers fought to take control of the plane, it didn't end up crashing into the Capitol.

The interior of the Capitol

The interior of the Capitol Building is split across these noteworthy areas:

The House Chambers

In this room, which sits alone in one wing of the Capitol, the meetings of the House of Representatives (one of the legislative bodies in the US) take place. It is here where the congressmen meet, and there are a total of 448 permanent seats in the house.

The Hall of Columns

This area is lined with statues of famous Americans.

The Crypt and Center of Washington

The Columbus Doors

These doors are made of bronze, and they represent the life and explorations of Christopher Columbus, the man historically famous for "discovering America".

The Senate Chamber

It's here where the Senate (the other legislative body of the United States) convenes, whose function is territorial representation. In this part of the Capitol, there are 100 individual desks because there are two senators who represent each state (and 50 states in total, of course), as well as a central presiding officer's desk and areas for both the press and other visitors.

The Rotunda

This room is situated just under the Capitol's famous and impressive dome. Just in the inner part of the dome, there is a fresco, a work of Brumidi, called "Apotheosis of Washington", which really just tops this room off. I recommend standing right in the middle of the dome and looking upwards - it's simply incredible. In this room, there are 8 oil paintings that represent historic events in the United States, 4 of which are related to the period of the American Revolution.

The United States Capitol rotunda doesn't fulfil any legislative functions, but that isn't to say that important historic events of every type haven't taken place here (funerals, the signing of new laws and treaties, etc. ). Besides, the room itself is both huge and beautiful, and I would even go as far to say that it's very elegant.

The Brumidi Corridors

These corridors are famous for their frescos, as well as for their bronze sculptures and paintings, which were also done by the dome fresco's artist, Constantino Brumidi.

National Statuary Hall

In this chamber, there is a huge number of statues of individuals who are famous for having performed some kind of historical feat. Each statue represents one of the 50 states (like the person who invented the television, or the female representative, Jeannette Rankin, who became famous for her statement, "As a woman, I can't go to war".

In the Statuary Hall, if you whisper something and there's not a lot of noise, you will hear it on the other side of the room, due to the perfect elliptic shape of its roof. Thanks to this perfect shape, this roof is one of the most important examples of this specific type of architecture.

Within the Capitol, there is a cafeteria, as well as two souvenir shops. In the cafeteria, there are 550 seats for both the congressmen and the representatives (totalling 548), plus the presiding office of each chamber of Congress. The Senate's green bean soup is supposedly very famous at this cafeteria, having been served every night for dinner for the last 100 years. I haven't personally tried it, as I don't like vegetables, but for those of you who do, I think you will feel like a congressman by dinnertime.

Personal opinion

In all honesty, I couldn't imagine the city of Washington D. C. without the Capitol. I live in Capitol Hill, which is about a twenty minute walk from the building itself, so every time that I step out into the street, I see it at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue. I guess that this makes it seem like it is always watching over the neighbourhood.

The building's exterior, in my eyes, seems really impressive, and is just truly beautiful, just like its green surroundings complemented by water fountains, tourists and other staff working. My favourite part of the building is the dome, but I had the misfortune of visiting it whilst it was under construction, so I couldn't fully enjoy the view of the Capitol, and the scaffolding makes the building quite ugly.

I like the building even more at night, as it is lit up, and the dome looks like it is sparkling with hundreds of lights and you cannot see the scaffolding in the dark, which significantly improves the silhouette. Besides, the white of the building stands out in the dark of night - it's really rather beautiful.

With regards to visiting the interior of the Capitol, I would recommend it to you without a shadow of a doubt. Just the simple fact of being inside this building makes you feel really important, and almost all of it is elegant and very pleasing on the eye. You won't at all regret queuing to visit or having to organise the rest of your day around its visiting hours.

Opening hours, prices and other important information

Visiting hours at the Capitol are as follows: Monday to Saturday, 8:30am until 4:30pm, except on federal holidays. And, if your visit has anything to do with a business meeting, you can enter the building from 7:15am.

Visiting the Capitol, both its interior and exterior, is free to do, which is something of great fortune for tourists in Washington D. C. It's not only free to visit the Capitol Building though, as the vast majority of monuments and museums in the US capital have also had their admission fees waived.

With regards to admission, you can book a tour of the Capitol Building, or you can visit it yourself without a guide. You can your entrance tickets on the same day as your visit at the Visitors Centre, but it is recommendable to reserve your time beforehand online, or through the Senate or House offices, just in case that they don't have a large enough quota for admission that day. You can bring a printed copy of your ticket with you, or you could equally just show the email on your phone, or give your reservation number and name directly to the Capitol admission staff. I love that they are not fussy about these things, as we are all capable of having an oversight with bringing a copy with us or not having ink in the printer before coming (this way, we are saving paper! ).

For a comprehensive visit of the Capitol Building, I would recommend that you spend a minimum of two hours there, and then depending on how much of a rush you are in and how much it actually interests you, you can lengthen or shorten your visit accordingly.

Photography is permitted throughout the Capitol, except for in the Exhibition Hall, to ensure that the documents in that room are very well-preserved.

How to get there and access to the Capitol

Aside from travelling by car, by bike or on foot, you can also get to this fantastic building by bus or on the city's metro system. The closest metro stations to the Capitol are "Capitol South" and "Federal Triangle", both of which are served by the orange, silver and blue lines. And, with regards to buses, you can catch any of the following services: 32, 34, 36 and 96.

I honestly wouldn't recommend travelling by car, as I cannot really give you too much information to help with this, as I don't know where the nearest car parks are, etc. I doubt that it would be a good option for people who don't actually work in the Capitol...

To access the interior of the Capitol, you have to head to the Visitors Centre and go through the security scanners (in almost all of the museums in Washington D. C., I have had to go through some kind of metal detector). I hope that you enjoy your visit as much as I did!