#98 Library of Congress and US Capitol 5-23-09

Our last day in Washington DC. We took the Metrorail into town from College Park, MD where we have been the last week. Our first stop was the Library of Congress. Debbie Martin had told us this was spectacular, and she was right. Below is just half of the front of the building.

Looking up from the steps this building is magnificent.

Inside you enter under the words “Library of Congress” in gold. Impressive!

Once inside the great room—before you even get to the room where the research books are kept—you are surrounded by beautiful mosaics, stained glass windows, and sculptures.

The pillars and stairwells are all marble.

We went on a tour with a docent and she gave us lots of facts about the building of this structure. One of the things that was interesting was the fact that the builders kept the inside a secret from congress—who put up the money for the building. The other thing that was really interesting was that the project came in under budget and on time. Probably the last government job to do so!!!

The mosaics in the building were outstanding. The way they were done was really interesting to me. The wall covered with a canvas, then painted with the picture. Then the canvas was carefully taken down and sent to Italy to have the mosaic done. That way the artisans in Italy had the shape of the wall to be decorated. This procedure is called “cartooning.”

In the picture above look at the many angles that are covered with the mosaic tiles. Even the floors in some of the rooms are all done in mosaic tiles. I was enthralled!

We took a tunnel under the street to the Capitol building our next stop of the day.

First you have to go to the visitor center. Then you line up with all the visiting kids! Then you get to go on an audio tour with a guide. We see a movie about the capitol and country and then head to the rotunda.

Looking up to the rotunda is a beautiful fresco painting, surrounded by gold leaf decorated tiles. Under that is carvings all around the ceiling.

On the walls are very large paintings. The one below depicts Pocahontas marrying John Smith. We were all told that her Christian name, after she was baptized, was Rebecca. I didn’t know that.

Next we went into the old senate room. It is now the hall of statures. The senate moved out to a wing of the capitol building. They didn’t like this room because it has such a bad echo. They could hear each other’s whispers!! Now each state has two statues of any of their historical figures they choose. Those figures have to be deceased. Not all 100 statues are in this room.

Under the Rotunda are the pillars that hold up the entire building. And below, right in the center of the Capitol is a star showing the directions of the city. Beneath the star is an empty tomb. It was supposed to be George Washington’s tomb, but they didn’t finish the building until after he had died 12 years before. And George wanted to be buried at Mt. Vernon.

We are leaving the capitol building. The sun is peeking through the clouds and making a beautiful picture for us.

Across the street from the Capitol is the Supreme Court. This, too, is a pretty awesome building. Only we didn’t go inside.

On our way to catch the Metro we decided we would walk to Union Station. What a surprise we had. This is like an Airport, a mall, and a restaurant row all inside one building. Not only can you catch a train, you can eat, shop, and get the metro. It is big!

The sky lights over just one part of the building were so awesome I had to take a picture of the ceiling. From here we were just steps away from our ride home on the Metro.

Bye, Bye Washington, DC. Bye Brian and Iris. By Debbie. Thank all of you for such wonderful memories.