Isn't She Lovely? A Tour Of The U.S. Capitol

Happy Monday everyone! And boy oh boy, what a Monday it was for yours truly. Unfortunately, D.C. wasn't actually a pretty sight today; it's been pouring raining ever since 8 A.M. this morning. Luckily, I was inside for most of the day. As for work, nothing too exciting happened early in the morning. I did have a nice lunch with my friends Alex and Janae--although we did turn out thirty minute lunch break into an hour. But fortunately, I don't think we were missed too much since the House was out of session today.

Later that afternoon, I gave my third tour of the Capitol. Now, the Capitol is a pretty neat place to visit if you have never done so before. And now that I'm starting to get over the glitz and glam of the place (although it is still a sight to see), I figured I give all of you lovely people reading this post an online version of the tour. So, let's go for a walk in the Capitol! 

• First, we watch a brief video introducing the history of Congress and the United States narrated by the great Maya Angelou. For reasons hopefully understood, we'll skip over this part and proceed on the tour. 
• We then continue on to a structure called the Crypt, which is directly below the Capitol Rotunda (the very center of the Capitol). The Crypt encompasses several statues that represent the original 13 states; the statue from Georgia is that of Crawford Long (the man who first used anesthesia). The Crypt also has a replica of the Magna Carta given to us in 1976.                                              
   
   The Crypt supports the floor of the Rotunda.
  
  
• The next place I'll take you is my personal favorite: the old Supreme Court Chamber. As an aspiring Supreme Court Justice and constitutional law junkie, it was really neat to see the place where landmark Court decisions such as McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and the Dred Scott vs. Sanford (1857) were decided. The room also features marble busts of the first five Chief Justices.
   
  The Old Supreme Court Chamber (1810-1860)

• Next, we venture upstairs to the most beautiful part of our tour: the Rotunda. Now, I won't talk about all of the paintings and artwork in the Rotunda simply because my words would not do it justice. It's an amazing sight to see; I recommend anyone and everyone go see for themselves! The Rotunda also includes various statues and busts, including Lincoln, Washington, Eisenhower, Ford, and Martin Luther King Jr.. The statue of President Reagan is particularly interesting because it is embedded with fragments of the Berlin wall (Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!). I mean, seriously, how cool is that? 

 The Rotunda. Seriously, y'all, it is a sight for the sore eyes. 

And another one. But this still does not do it justice.  

• We then enter the Old Senate Chamber. For all your history people out there, this was the room where the Missouri Compromise and the infamous canning of Senator Sumner occurred. While most everything has been restored, the Vice President's desk is the original! 

The Old Senate Chamber (1810-1859)

• Now, we will enter Statuary Hall. Statuary Hall was the original home to the House of Representatives. The plaques on the floor represent the various places significant people's desks were--including John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln. The Hall also contains several more statues and busts. The newest addition was Rosa Parks, added in February of 2013.  

Statuary Hall. Another beautiful room in the Capitol.

Now, normally the tour would be coming to a close here. I would take my constituents to Emancipation Hall (the heart of the Visitors Center), show them the gift shop, and then lead them back to our office in Rayburn. However, my guests on this particular day had passes to go visit the Senate gallery (the House was out of session so no visitors were allowed). After going through all the strict security measures, we all entered the current Senate Chamber and took a seat as a Senator
spoke about the proposed immigration laws.

And then, it happened. That wow moment I had been waiting for. Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada entered the chamber and introduced Jeff Chiesa, the newly appointed Senator from New Jersey. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also joined him. But of course, the man swearing in the new Senator was the President of the Senate and the Vice President of the United States: Mr. Joe Biden. I couldn't believe it when Vice President Biden walked out of the floor! He gave Mr. Chiesa the oath and left shortly after, but I still got to see him up close and hear his voice. Talk about great timing!

 Mr. Joe Cool himself. We couldn't take any pictures in the Senate Gallery, unfortunately.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your brief version of the Capitol! But of course, if you ever come to D.C., you must come and see it with your own eyes. It really is incredible and filled with so much of our history as a nation. I hope all of y'all enjoy the rest of your night!