Admission: Free
Hours: Daily 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day
 

The United States Capital:

The best recognized symbol of democratic government in the world, the United States Capitol has housed Congress since 1800. The Capitol is where Congress meets to write the laws of our nation and where presidents are inaugurated and deliver their annual State of the Union messages. For nearly two centuries, the Capitol has grown along with the nation, adding new wings to accommodate the increasing number of senators and representatives as new states entered the Union. Its halls are lined with statuary and paintings representing great events and people in the nation's history.

Capital Construction:

The original Capitol was designed by Dr. William Thorton, and the cornerstone was laid by President George Washington on September 18, 1793. Benjamin Harry Latrobe and Charles Bulfinch, among other architects, directed its early construction. In 1800, when the government moved from temporary quarters in Philadelphia to Washington DC, the Capitol that awaited them was an unfinished brick and sandstone building. The Congress moved into the small, cramped north wing. At first the House met in a large room on the second floor intended for the Library of Congress, the Senate in a chamber on the ground floor. Today on the second floor is the chamber that the Senate used between 1810 and 1859.
In 1807, the south wing of the Capitol was completed for the House of Representatives. A wooden walkway across the vacant yard intended for the domed center building linked the House and Senate wings. This was how the Capitol appeared in August 1814, during America's second war with Great Britain, when British troops burned the Capitol and other public buildings in Washington. The exterior walls survived, but much of the interior was gutted. In 1819, the reconstructed wings of the Capitol were reopened. The center building, completed in 1826, joined the two wings. A low wood and copper dome covered the Rotunda.

By 1850, so many new states had been admitted to the Union that the House and Senate had outgrown their chambers. Congress decided to enlarge the Capitol by adding grand wings to the ends of the old building. In 1851, Daniel Webster, who had served in both houses of Congress, delivered one of his famous orations at the laying of the cornerstone for the new wings. The house occupied its current chamber in 1857, and the Senate moved into its chamber in 1859.
The Old Hall of the House was later dedicated as National Statuary Hall. Congress invited each state to contribute two statues of its most famous citizens. Today, these statues are displayed in Statuary Hall and in corridors.

During the Civil War, work continued on the new cast-iron dome, designed by Thomas U. Walter. On December 2, 1863, the statue of Freedom, by American artist Thomas Crawford, was placed at the top of the dome, 287 feet above the East Plaza.

In the 1870s, the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the terraces that run across the north, south, and west elevations of the Capitol. These terraces provided extra rooms as well as a grand pedestal for the building perched on the brow of Capitol Hill.

The Rotunda
Unlike the Senate and House chambers, the Rotunda serves no legislative function. It is, however, the very heart of the Capitol. It is a ceremonial center where state funerals have been held for presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Lyndon Johnson, distinguished members of Congress, military heroes, and eminent citizens. Visiting heads of state have been received in the Rotunda, and memorable individuals and events celebrated.
Hanging in the Rotunda are four giant canvases painted by John Trumbull, an aide-de-camp to General Washington, who recorded scenes of the American Revolution. Four other artists added paintings depicting events associated with the discovery and settlement of the United States. On the canopy, hovering 180 feet above the Rotunda floor, the Italian-American artist Constantino Brumidi painted "The Apotheosis of Washington." It depicts George Washington surrounded by symbols of American democracy and technological progress. Brumidi painted and decorated many of the rooms and corridors of the Capitol, and was painting the frieze that rings the Rotunda when he died. Other artists completed his work, which illustrates major events in the nation's history. The events portrayed at the end of the frieze took place years after Brumidi's death, an appropriate suggestion of the continuity of history.

Visitor Information
Visitors are encouraged to tour the Capitol, view its artwork and historic rooms, spend time in the galleries, and visit the offices of their senators and representatives. Congress is proud to maintain the Capitol as a building with few restrictions on visitors. The Capitol is open seven days a week, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Guided tours begin in the Rotunda from 9:00 am to 3:45 pm. Visitors may obtain gallery passes from their representative or senator. Foreign visitors may obtain House passes at the gallery check-in desk on the third floor and Senate passes at the Senate appointment desk on the first floor. Tours and assistance for disabled visitors are available from the Special Services Office, on the first floor central area known as "the crypt."
Materials providing additional information about the Capitol and the Congress are available at the gift stand on the first floor. Free descriptive brochures are available at the gallery entrances to the Senate chamber and in the Old Senate and Old Supreme Court chambers. Citizens of the United States who have specific questions about the Capitol or Congress are encouraged to write either their senators (Washington, DC 20510) or their representative (Washington, DC 20515).

Additional Information:

http://www.tourofdc.org/tours/USCapitol/

http://www.senate.gov/vtour/

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/us.capitol/s0.html

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc76.htm

http://www.house.gov/house/Visitor.html