United States Senate

===Seating===
[[File:senatedesk.jpg|thumb|A typical Senate desk on the floor of the United States Senate]]
At one end of the chamber of the Senate is a [[dais]] from which the [[Presiding Officer of the United States Senate|presiding officer]] presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. One hundred desks are arranged in the chamber in a [[semicircular]] pattern and are divided by a wide central aisle. The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] traditionally sits to the presiding officer's right, and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] traditionally sits to the presiding officer's left, regardless of which party has a majority of seats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seating Arrangement |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/hdetail.cfm?id=11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018103649/http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/hdetail.cfm?id=11 |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |access-date=July 11, 2012 |publisher=Senate Chamber Desks}}</ref>

Each senator chooses a desk based on seniority within the party. By custom, the leader of each party sits in the front row along the center aisle. Forty-eight of the desks date back to 1819, when the Senate chamber was reconstructed after the original contents were destroyed in the 1812 [[Burning of Washington]]. Further desks of similar design were added as new states entered the Union.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senate Chamber Desks – Overview |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/overview.cfm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026015630/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Desks/overview.cfm |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |access-date=September 2, 2017 |website=United States Senate}}</ref> It is a tradition that each senator who uses a desk inscribes their name on the inside of the desk's drawer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senate Chamber Desks – Desk Occupants |url=https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art/furniture/senate-chamber-desks/desk-occupants.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121173704/https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art/furniture/senate-chamber-desks/desk-occupants.htm |archive-date=January 21, 2022 |access-date=January 21, 2022 |website=United States Senate}}</ref>