Culver City P.O.: The Capitol and Supreme Court Buildings

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Capitol and Supreme Court Buildings

Library of Congress, topped by a sculpted torch

Before being thrust into the middle of Tuesday's historic events, our group toured the Capitol and two of its nearby sibling buildings, the Supreme Court and Library of Congress.

All marble and grand hallways, the Supreme Court is perhaps the most austere of the three buildings. Court was not in session, so we were treated to a 30-minute informational lecture inside the renowned courtroom. Unlike the rest of the starkly white public area, the courtroom is lushly draped in red velour.

Supreme Court building

Stairs leading to the courtroom

Red-draped courtroom and nine Justice seats. Observers sit on pews

and cane-backed chairs.

Next stop: the Library of Congress, which librarians affectionately call "LC." It is the world's largest library. Although there are no books in sight, LC is magnificent in its decor and architecture. A true temple of written knowledge.

Library of Congress archway in the Great Hall

Looking up from the Great Hall

Ceiling ornamentation

Detail

Looking down onto the Great Hall

Ceremonial Librarian of Congress office

Thomas Jefferson's book collection, which provided

the foundation for the original LC collection

World-famous Reading Room. Remember the scene in

All the President's Men?

Reading Room's rotunda

Our last stop of the day was the Capitol, which we accessed via a public underground tunnel from LC. The building is festooned in statues. But perhaps the most famous is the original plaster model of the bronze Statue of Freedom that sits atop the Capitol dome. Recently restored, the plaster version is the centerpiece of Emancipation Hall, the building's main public space.

Plaster Statue of Freedom

Thanks to our Times tour guide, we visited Senator Kamala Harris's office in the Senate's Hart building. We even got to ride the underground trams connecting Hart to the rest of the Capitol buildings.