United States Capitol

==Interior==
{{Further|United States Capitol rotunda}}
{{See also|United States Capitol subway system}}
[[File:USA-US Capitol4.JPG|thumb|left|The [[United States Capitol rotunda|Capitol rotunda]] in 2013]]
The Capitol building is marked by its central [[United States Capitol dome|dome]] above a [[United States Capitol rotunda|rotunda]] in the central section of the structure (which also includes the older original smaller center flanked by the two original (designed 1793, occupied 1800) smaller two wings (inner north and inner south) containing the two original smaller [[debate chamber|meeting chambers]] for the Senate and the House of Representatives (between 1800 and late 1850s) and then flanked by two further extended (newer) wings, one also for each chamber of the larger, more populous Congress: the new north wing is the Senate chamber and the new south wing is the House of Representatives chamber. Above these newer chambers are galleries where visitors can watch the Senate and House of Representatives. It is an example of [[neoclassical architecture]].

Tunnels and internal [[United States Capitol Subway System|subways]] connect the Capitol building with the [[Congressional office buildings]] in the [[United States Capitol Complex|Capitol Complex]]. All rooms in the Capitol are designated as either S (for Senate) or H (for House), depending on whether they are in the Senate or House wing of the Capitol.

===Art===
[[File:Apotheosis of George Washington.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Apotheosis of Washington]]'', the 1865 [[fresco]] by [[Constantino Brumidi]] on the interior of the Capitol's dome in 2005]]
[[File:Car of history.jpg|thumb|Carlo Franzoni's 1819 sculptural [[chariot clock]], the ''Car of History'', depicting [[Clio]], the Greek muse of history in National Statuary Hall in 2006]]
[[File:USCapitolRotunda.JPG|thumb|left|The [[United States Capitol rotunda|Capitol rotunda]] in 2005]]
[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|[[John Trumbull]]'s 1819 portrait, ''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'', depicting the [[Committee of Five]] submitting its draft of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], one of the largest paintings on display in the rotunda]]
[[File:National Statuary Hall Collection.jpg|thumb|[[National Statuary Hall Collection]] viewed from the south]]
The Capitol has a long history in [[Visual arts of the United States|art of the United States]], beginning in 1856 with [[Italian American|Italian]]/[[Greek American]] artist [[Constantino Brumidi]] and his [[mural]]s in the hallways of the first floor of the Senate side of the Capitol. The murals, known as the [[Brumidi Corridors]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/brumidi/index.cfm | title=AOC.gov | publisher=AOC.gov | access-date=November 5, 2010 }}</ref> reflect great moments and people in [[History of the United States|United States history]]. Among the original works are those depicting [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[John Fitch (inventor)|John Fitch]], [[Robert Fulton]], and events such as the [[Louisiana Purchase|Cession of Louisiana]]. Also decorating the walls are animals, insects and natural [[Flora of the United States|flora]] indigenous to the United States. Brumidi's design left many spaces open so future events in United States history could be added. Among those added are the ''[[Spirit of St. Louis]]'', the [[Apollo 11|Moon landing]], and the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' crew]].

Brumidi also worked within the Rotunda. He is responsible for the painting of ''[[The Apotheosis of Washington]]'' beneath the top of the dome, and also the ''[[United States Capitol rotunda#Frieze of American History|Frieze of American History]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/frieze/index.cfm | title=Frieze of American History | publisher=Aoc.gov | access-date=November 5, 2010 }}</ref> ''The Apotheosis of Washington'' was completed in 11 months and painted by Brumidi while suspended nearly {{convert|180|ft}} in the air. It is said to be the first attempt by the United States to deify a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|founding father]]. Washington is depicted surrounded by 13 [[Virginity|maidens]] in an inner ring with many [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology|Roman gods and goddesses]] below him in a second ring. The [[frieze]] is located around the inside of the base of the dome and is a chronological, pictorial history of the United States from the landing of [[Christopher Columbus]] to the [[Wright Brothers]]'s flight in [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina|Kitty Hawk]], [[North Carolina]]. The frieze was started in 1878 and was not completed until 1953. The frieze was therefore painted by four different artists: Brumidi, [[Filippo Costaggini]], [[Charles Ayer Whipple]], and [[Allyn Cox]]. The final scenes depicted in the fresco had not yet occurred when Brumidi began his ''Frieze of the United States History''.

Within the Rotunda there are eight large paintings about the development of the United States as a nation. On the east side are four paintings depicting major events in the discovery of America. On the west are four paintings depicting the founding of the United States. The east side paintings include ''The Baptism of [[Pocahontas]]'' by [[John Gadsby Chapman]], ''The Embarkation of the [[Pilgrim Fathers|Pilgrims]]'' by [[Robert Walter Weir]], ''The Discovery of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]]'' by [[William Henry Powell]], and ''The Landing of Columbus'' by [[John Vanderlyn]]. The paintings on the west side are by [[John Trumbull]]: ''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'', ''[[Surrender of General Burgoyne]]'', ''[[Surrender of Lord Cornwallis]]'', and ''[[General George Washington Resigning His Commission]]''. Trumbull was a contemporary of the United States' founding fathers and a participant in the [[American Revolutionary War]]; he painted a self-portrait into ''Surrender of Lord Cornwallis''.

''[[First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln]]'', an 1864 painting by [[Francis Bicknell Carpenter]], hangs over the west staircase in the Senate wing.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/artifact/Painting_33_00005.htm | title=U.S. Senate: Art & History Home, First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of Presid | publisher=Senate.gov | access-date=February 19, 2012 }}</ref>

The Capitol also houses the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]], comprising two statues donated by each of the [[U.S. state|fifty states]] to honor persons notable in their histories. One of the most notable statues in the [[National Statuary Hall]] is a [[Kamehameha Statue|bronze statue of King Kamehameha]] donated by the state of Hawaii upon its accession to the union in 1959. The statue's extraordinary weight of {{convert|15,000|lb|kg}} raised concerns that it might come crashing through the floor, so it was moved to Emancipation Hall of the new Capitol Visitor Center. The 100th, and last statue for the collection, that of [[Popé|Po'pay]] from the state of [[New Mexico]], was added on September 22, 2005. It was the first statue moved into the Emancipation Hall.

===Crypt===
[[File:USA-US Capitol2.JPG|thumb|The [[United States Capitol crypt|Capitol crypt]]]]
On the ground floor is an area known as [[United States Capitol crypt|the Crypt]]. It was intended to be the burial place of [[George Washington]], with a ringed [[balustrade]] at the center of the Rotunda above looking down to his tomb. However, under the stipulations of his last [[Will (law)|will]], Washington was buried at [[Mount Vernon]]. The Crypt houses exhibits on the history of the Capitol. A [[Compass rose|compass star]] inlaid in the floor marks the point at which Washington, D.C. is divided into its four quadrants and is the basis for how [[Streets and highways of Washington, D.C.|addresses in Washington, D.C.]], are designated ([[Northeast, Washington, D.C.|NE]], [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|NW]], [[Southeast, Washington, D.C.|SE]], or [[Southwest, Washington, D.C.|SW]]).

[[Gutzon Borglum]]'s massive ''[[Bust of Abraham Lincoln (Borglum)|Abraham Lincoln Bust]]'' is housed in the crypt. The sculptor had a fascination with large-scale art and themes of heroic nationalism, and carved the piece from a six-ton block of [[marble]]. Borglum carved the bust in 1908; it was donated to the Congress by [[Eugene Meyer (financier)|Eugene Meyer Jr.]] and accepted by the [[Joint Committee on the Library]] the same year. The pedestal was specially designed by the sculptor and installed in 1911. The bust and pedestal were on display in the Rotunda until 1979 when, after a rearrangement of all the sculptures in the Rotunda, they were placed in the Crypt.<ref name="Abraham Lincoln Bust">{{cite web|title=Abraham Lincoln Bust|url=https://www.aoc.gov/art/busts/abraham-lincoln-bust|publisher=Architect of the Capitol|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> Borglum was a patriot and believed the "monuments we have built are not our own"; he looked to create art that was "American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement", according to a 1908 interview article.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} Borglum's depiction of Lincoln was so accurate that [[Robert Todd Lincoln]], the president's son, praised the bust as "the most extraordinarily good portrait of my father I have ever seen".<ref name="Abraham Lincoln Bust"/> Supposedly, according to legend, the marble head remains unfinished (missing the left ear) to symbolize Lincoln's [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|unfinished life]].

===Features===
At one end of the room near the [[Old Supreme Court Chamber]] is a statue of [[John C. Calhoun]]. On the right leg of the statue, a mark from a bullet fired during the [[1998 United States Capitol shooting|1998 shooting incident]] is clearly visible. The bullet also left a mark on the cape, located on the back right side of the statue.

Twelve presidents have [[Lying in state|lain in state]] in the Rotunda for public viewing, most recently [[George H. W. Bush]]. The tomb meant for Washington stored the [[catafalque]] which is used to support [[coffin]]s lying in state or honor in the Capitol. The catafalque now on display in the Exhibition Hall of the Capitol Visitor Center was used for President Lincoln.

The [[Hall of Columns]] is located on the House side of the Capitol, home to twenty-eight fluted columns and statues from the National Statuary Hall Collection. In the basement of the Capitol building in a utility room are two marble bathtubs, which are all that remain of the once elaborate Senate baths. These baths were a [[spa]]-like facility designed for members of Congress and their guests before many buildings in the city had modern plumbing. The facilities included several bathtubs, a barbershop, and a [[massage parlor]].

A steep metal staircase, totaling 365 steps, leads from the basement to an outdoor walkway on top of the Capitol's dome.<ref name=365steps>{{cite news | url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/10/us/365-steps-to-the-top-of-capitol-hill.html | title= 365 Steps to the Top of Capitol Hill | date= August 10, 1997 | work= The New York Times | at= Section 1, Page 22 | access-date= August 9, 2009 }}</ref> The number of steps represents each day of the year.<ref name=thirtyyears>{{cite book | last= Logan | first= Mrs. John A. (Mary Simmerson) | title= Thirty Years in Washington; or, Life and Scenes in Our National Capital | publisher=A. D. Worthington & Co | location= Hartford, Connecticut | year= 1901 | page= [https://archive.org/details/thirtyyearsinwa00logauoft/page/78 78] | oclc= 29540458 | url= https://archive.org/details/thirtyyearsinwa00logauoft | access-date=August 9, 2009 }}</ref> Also in the basement, the weekly [[Jumu'ah|Jummah]] prayer is held on Fridays by Muslim staffers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bowman |first=Bridget |title=Muslim on Capitol Hill: Staffers Look to Rebuild |url=http://www.rollcall.com/news/home/congressional-muslim-staff-association |date=July 21, 2014 |newspaper=[[Roll Call]] |access-date=January 17, 2017}}</ref>

===Height===
{{Further|Heights of Buildings Act of 1910|List of tallest buildings in Washington, D.C.|The Height of Buildings Act of 1899|}}
Contrary to a popular myth, [[The Height of Buildings Act of 1899|D.C. building height laws]] have never referred to the height of the Capitol building, which rises to {{convert|289|ft|m|0}}.<ref>{{cite web | author=Matthew Gilmore | url=http://www.h-net.org/~dclist/building_height | title=H-DC Discussion Network | publisher=H-net.org | access-date=November 5, 2010}}</ref> Indeed, the Capitol is only the [[List of tallest buildings in Washington, D.C.|fourth-tallest structure in Washington]].

===House Chamber===<!-- This section is linked from [[Hammurabi]] -->
[[File:2019 State of the Union (47006679041).jpg|thumb|President [[Donald Trump]] delivering the [[2019 State of the Union Address|2019 State of the Union address]] in the House chamber]]
[[File:OldSupremeCourt.jpg|thumb|The [[Old Supreme Court Chamber]] in 2007]]
[[File:US Senate Chamber c1873.jpg|thumb|the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] chamber, {{Circa|1873}}]]
The [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] Chamber has 448 permanent seats. Unlike senators, representatives do not have assigned seats.<ref>{{cite web |title=The House Chamber |url=http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/art_artifacts/virtual_tours/house_chamber/index.html |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905185132/http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/art_artifacts/virtual_tours/house_chamber/index.html |archive-date=September 5, 2009 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> The chamber is large enough to accommodate members of all three branches of the federal government and invited guests for [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint sessions]] of Congress such as the [[State of the Union]] speech and other events.

The Chamber is adorned with [[Relief|relief portraits]] of famous lawmakers and lawgivers throughout Western and Near Eastern history. The [[United States national motto]] "[[In God We Trust]]" is written over the tribune below the clock and above the United States flag. Of the twenty-three relief portraits, only Moses is sculpted from a full front view and is located across from the dais where the Speaker of the House ceremonially sits.

In order, clockwise around the chamber:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!No.
!Individual
!Years
!Country
!Legal work
|-
|1
|[[George Mason]]
|1725–1792
|[[United States]]
|[[Virginia Declaration of Rights]]
|-
|2
|[[Robert Joseph Pothier]]
|1699–1772
|[[Kingdom of France|France]]
|''Pandectae Justinianae in novum ordinem digestae''
|-
|3
|[[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]]
|1619–1683
|France
|
|-
|4
|[[Edward I of England|Edward I]]
|1239–1307
|[[Kingdom of England|England]]
|[[Statute of Westminster 1275]] and [[Statute of Westminster 1285]]
|-
|5
|[[Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso X]]
|1221–1284
|[[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]]
|''Fuero Real'' and ''Siete Partidas''
|-
|6
|[[Pope Gregory IX]]
|data-sort-value="1145"|{{circa}} 1145–1241
|[[pope|Papacy]]
|''[[Decretales Gregorii IX|Decratales]]''
|-
|7
|[[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]]
|1214–1270
|France
|
|-
|8
|[[Justinian I]]
|data-sort-value="482"|{{circa}} 482–565
|[[Byzantine Empire]]
|{{Lang|la|[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]}}
|-
|9
|[[Tribonian]]
|data-sort-value="485"|{{circa}} 485–542
|[[Byzantine Empire]]
|''[[Codex Justinianus]]''
|-
|10
|[[Lycurgus of Sparta|Lycurgus]]
|data-sort-value="0"|{{fl.}} {{circa}} 820 BC
|[[Sparta]]
|[[Spartan Constitution]]
|-
|11
|[[Hammurabi]]
|data-sort-value="-1810"|{{circa}} 1810 – 1750 BC
|[[First Babylonian dynasty|Babylonian Empire]]
|[[Code of Hammurabi]]
|-
|12
|[[Moses]]
|data-sort-value="-1570"|{{circa}} 14th – 13th century BC
|[[Israelites|Tribes of Israel]]
|[[Law of Moses]]
|-
|13
|[[Solon]]
|data-sort-value="-638"|{{circa}} 638 – {{circa}} 558 BC
|[[Classical Athens|Athens]]
|[[Solonian Constitution]]
|-
|14
|[[Papinian]]
|142–212
|[[Roman Empire|Rome]]
|''Quaestiones'', ''Responsa'', ''Definitiones'', ''De adulteriis''
|-
|15
|[[Gaius (jurist)|Gaius]]
|data-sort-value="130"|{{fl.}} 130–180
|Rome
|Institutes
|-
|16
|[[Maimonides]]
|1135/38–1204
|[[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid Empire]]
|[[Mishneh Torah]]
|-
|17
|[[Suleiman the Magnificent]]
|1494–1566
|[[Ottoman Empire]]
|[[Suleiman the Magnificent#Legal and political reforms|''Kanune Raya'']]
|-
|18
|[[Pope Innocent III]]
|1160/61–1216
|Papacy
|
|-
|19
|[[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]]
|data-sort-value="1208"|{{circa}} 1208–1265
|England
|[[Simon de Montfort's Parliament]]
|-
|20
|[[Hugo Grotius]]
|1583–1645
|[[Dutch Republic]]
|''[[Mare Liberum]]'', ''[[De jure belli ac pacis]]'' and others
|-
|21
|[[William Blackstone]]
|1723–1780
|[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|''[[Commentaries on the Laws of England]]''
|-
|22
|[[Napoleon]]
|1769–1821
|[[First French Empire|France]]
|[[Napoleonic Code]]
|-
|23
|[[Thomas Jefferson]]
|1743–1826
|United States
|[[United States Declaration of Independence]] and [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]]
|}

There is a quote by statesman [[Daniel Webster]] etched in the marble of the chamber, as stated: "Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered."<ref name=danielwebster>{{cite book | last= Carrier | first= Thomas J. | title= The White House, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court: historic self-guided tours | publisher= Arcadia Publishing | location= Charleston, South Carolina | year= 2000 | series= Images of America | page= 84 | isbn= 0-7385-0557-9 | oclc= 44503337 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vU4stRA8OUQC&q=%22United+States+Capitol%22+%22Let+us+develop+the+resources+of+our+land%22&pg=PA84 | access-date= August 9, 2009 | archive-date= January 14, 2021 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210114214624/https://books.google.com/books?id=vU4stRA8OUQC&q=%22United+States+Capitol%22+%22Let+us+develop+the+resources+of+our+land%22&pg=PA84 | url-status= live }}</ref>

===Senate Chamber===
{{Main|United States Senate chamber}}
The current [[United States Senate|Senate]] Chamber opened in 1859<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Senate_Chamber.htm | title= The Senate Chamber 1859–2009 | access-date= January 26, 2009}}</ref> and is adorned with [[United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection|white marble busts]] of the former [[List of the Presidents of the United States Senate|Presidents of the Senate]] (Vice Presidents).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/vtour/vpbust.htm | title=The Senate Chamber: Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection | publisher=United States Senate | access-date=December 6, 2007}}</ref>

===Old Chambers===
====Statuary Hall (Old Hall of the House)====
{{Main|Statuary Hall}}
The National [[Statuary Hall]] is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the Rotunda. It was the meeting place of the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 50 years (1807–1857). After a few years of disuse, in 1864, it was repurposed as a statuary hall.

====Old Senate Chamber====
{{Main|Old Senate Chamber}}
The [[Old Senate Chamber]] is a room in the United States Capitol that was the legislative chamber of the United States Senate from 1810 to 1859, and served as the Supreme Court chamber from 1860 until 1935.

====Old Supreme Court Chamber====
{{Main|Old Senate Chamber}}
This room was originally the lower half of the [[Old Senate Chamber]] from 1800 to 1806. After division of the chamber in two levels, this room was used from 1806 until 1860 as the Supreme Court Chamber. In 1860, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] began using the newly vacated Old Senate Chamber. In 1935, the Supreme Court vacated the Capitol Building and began meeting in the newly constructed [[United States Supreme Court Building]] across the street.

===Floor plans===
{{multiple image
| perrow = 2
| caption_align = center
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
| width1 = 334
| image1 = US Capitol basement floor plan 1997 105th-congress.gif
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Basement, Terrace, and Courtyard Floor

| width2 = 342
| image2 = US Capitol first floor plan 1997 105th-congress.gif
| alt2 =
| caption2 = First (Ground) Floor

| width3 = 295
| image3 = US Capitol second floor plan 1997 105th-congress.gif
| alt3 = 
| caption3 = Second (Primary) Floor

| width4 = 344
| image4 = US Capitol third floor plan 1997 105th-congress.gif
| alt4 = 
| caption4 = Third (Gallery) Floor

| width5 = 392
| image5 = US Capitol fourth floor plan 1997 105th-congress.gif
| alt5 = 
| caption5 = Fourth (Attic) Floor

| header = Floor plans of the United States Capitol
| footer = Layout and room numbers as of 1997
| footer_align = center
}}