Here's the kids in front of the Capitol while we were waiting in a very long line.
This is the Raydon Building, across the road from the Capitol which is where the Congressmen have their offices (the Russell Building on the opposite side of the Capitol houses the Senators and they are all connected by a subway train!)
Back at 12:45, suitably plastered with our tickets, we lined up, passing through security (no food, liquids or big bags).
Closer to the entrance ...
Here's the view from the front entrance looking down the mall to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
Finally inside the Capitol. The tour takes us to three places in the building. The first is the rotunda itself. Because it is such a noisy place and there are tours, both public and private everywhere, Congress has spent a lot of money and invested in some radio transmitters and receivers. And they work very well. You can wander around at will and still hear the tour guide crystal clear. The only problem can be remembering which is your guide.Every state is allowed to display 2 statues inside the Capitol somewhere. One of Illinois' statues is this one of Lincoln. Tried to get the kids' attention, but there was something much more interesting above.
The space inside the dome is large enough to house the Statue of Liberty from toe to torch. And up the top in the middle is this work of art. Each figure is 40 feet high. And the man in the middle, surrounded by 13 women representing the 13 original states is none other than George Washington. Reminiscent of European imagery of God.At eye level is a series of large paintings celebrating key moments in early American history. Here's some of them.
Another of the statues under the dome has 3 women and a blob. The 3 women are famous women in American history, and the blob represents unfinished work.
Sam found one of Virginia's statues, that of one of his heroes, Thomas Jefferson.
Here's Jefferson Davis, who was president of the south while Lincoln was president of the north.
This statue sits over the entrance and is supposed to be Minerva keeping track of time and keeping an eye on everyone to keep them honest.
As you can see from these photos
Third and final spot on the guided tour is the crypt, which is located directly under the dome. The dome is supported in its entirety by the columns you can see below. Above the kids pose with Lincoln. This sculpture is incomplete (left ear) to symbolize unfinished business, a life cut short.
Washington DC is divided into 4 quadrants for address (SE, NE, NW, SW), and this requires an origin or reference point. The central point of the dome, which the kids are standing on here is that reference. Which means that the Senate and House have different zip codes.
Another of the statues under the dome has 3 women and a blob. The 3 women are famous women in American history, and the blob represents unfinished work.
Sam found one of Virginia's statues, that of one of his heroes, Thomas Jefferson.We then moved into the original House of Representatives, where we saw the standard demonstration of the acoustics allowing spying on the opposition (see my earlier posts on the Capitol).
Here's Jefferson Davis, who was president of the south while Lincoln was president of the north.This statue sits over the entrance and is supposed to be Minerva keeping track of time and keeping an eye on everyone to keep them honest.
As you can see from these photos 1) there's lots of statues in this room
2) there's more statues than people here
Turns out that there are normally tours scheduled every 5 minutes which means that this is very busy. However, around lunchtime, the tours are run only every 15 minutes so our timing was superb. In my previous visits I have not been able to get the clear photos of the dome paintings above.
Third and final spot on the guided tour is the crypt, which is located directly under the dome. The dome is supported in its entirety by the columns you can see below. Above the kids pose with Lincoln. This sculpture is incomplete (left ear) to symbolize unfinished business, a life cut short.
Washington DC is divided into 4 quadrants for address (SE, NE, NW, SW), and this requires an origin or reference point. The central point of the dome, which the kids are standing on here is that reference. Which means that the Senate and House have different zip codes.
First stop on the self-guided tour is the old Supreme Court, which was held in this room just off the crypt before it got its own building across the road.
Following on from this was our visit to the House (Congress). Unfortunately, no cameras or electronics of any type are allowed in, so there's no photos. But, for the first time in my 3 visits so far this year, the House was in session. Mind you, there were only about a dozen people on the floor and Nancy was not Speakering. They were debating a bill which had bipartisan support on some Union program. It was still fascinating to watch the machinations as they gave each other the floor and stumbled through their speeches. We sat there for twenty minutes enthralled.
Finally, it was time to leave. We exited through the western exit, above the entrance and got this spectacular view of the Mall again.
And here we are in front of the fountain in front of the Capitol.
Just southwest of the Capitol is the Botanic Gardens which have a series of globes outside. We found one with a car theme which had Australia prominently displayed.
Time to bid farewell to the Capitol and head back to the Metro (it's hot and humid today). We're ready for the pool.
