Wednesday, October 10, 2012

US Capitol Tour

Here are some pictures from the tour inside of the United States Capitol Building.  We will see the rotunda, the room underneath the great dome, and the old House room, and the crypt.

And of course, the visitors center.
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Every state gets two statues to show off their history.  I am particularly fond of this one.
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My step son was loving the fact that the visitors center was underground.
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This is the underside of the great dome.
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This son of a bitch of a statue cost my wife and me a private tour when we came here on our honeymoon.  I'm still pissed.  Stupid Reagan statue.
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There are four paintings depicting the settling of the new world, and four depicting major moments in the American Revolution.
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The frieze (sp?) beneath the dome shows our history from Columbus through the Wright Brothers.
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This looks like a sculpture when you're in the room, but it's actually a 3D painting.
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Robbie tries getting artsy with the shadows.
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I'm sure I am going to spell this wrong, but this is called the Apotheosis of Washington.  Note that 13 of the women have stars over their heads.  They represent the 13 original US states.
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This statue of Abraham Lincoln was sculpted by a 17 year old.  When I was 17  I was sweeping and mopping floors.
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Thomas Jefferson.
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Now we move on to the room that originally housed the US House of Representatives.  I think it's called the statue room.  I can't remember for sure.  I'll ask my nine year old step son, he'll remember.
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Behind that door is the office of the Speaker of the House.
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So I was diggin' the chandeliers.  Wanna make something of it?
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Mini-dome.
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I was diggin' the curtain too.  Again, wanna make something of it?  Huh?
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Again, Robbie tries to get artsy with the shadows.  Yeah.
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Ummm... I have to sort of question the logic behind this statue.
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Now we are downstairs in the crypt.  Yes, there is a crypt in the US Capitol Building.  No, there is no one buried in the crypt.  It was meant for George Washington but the Father of Our Country preferred to be buried at his home in Virginia.  While there is no body buried in the crypt, there are a bunch of statues, including this one of Abraham Lincoln.
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Again, I sort of question the logic behind this one.  I know he was a hero to half of the nation, and I know he did do a lot to help the peace following the Civil War... I guess.  Still.  Maybe I'm still bitter over the whole secession thing.
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I think this was a New Hampshire statue.  Obviously I cannot see the base, but I believe I took it for the kids.  Our tour guide was awesome.  He went through the whole, very large, group and asked which state everyone was from and then proceeded to tell us who the two statues were and where they were located within the Capitol building.  It was very impressive.
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And finally... I dare you to say something.  I double dare you.
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I'll put up another post later with pictures from the outside of the US Capitol building.  I love that building.

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