The Schumin Web Salutes America
- Part 2 -
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Continued from Part 1...
As one would expect, the Capitol is a popular tourist destination. Due to crowds in line to see the Capitol, and my being on a schedule, I did not visit the building's interior, choosing instead to go around the building's exterior on the House side...
The Senate wing stands proud, as Senators get ready for business-as-usual again, after a little time off for the Fourth of July, which occurred the Wednesday before this trip.
When Senator Jeffords became an Independent after leaving the Republican party, we knew he really blew the roof off the place with that decision. Didn't think it was literal as well!
And there she stands... the seat of our nation, the Capitol...
Oh, and in case anyone gets hurt, these guys are ready to help.
You can go up the steps to the Senate - to an extent. Beyond this sign, you have to have been elected, or work for someone who's been elected.
The American flag flies proudly in front of the dome.
Well, you know how it is... when things get smaller, they often times get friendlier, and when they get larger, they get crankier. So... while the 100-member Senate kindly let us know that only Senators and staff could use that entrance, the 435-member House just said, "THIS ENTRANCE CLOSED".
Around by the House wing, the dome fits perfectly with the other architecture surrounding it.
Now this is the Capitol's "south door" entrance. It's part of the House wing, and it's where you can presumably go to see the House of Representatives in action from the gallery, and where you enter if you're there on official business.
This stone nearly tripped me because it was not firmly in place, like the rest.
Around on the west front, the Capitol has lots of plants in beds all over the place.
A little bit of the Capitol was under renovation when I went to visit. Asking a member of the Capitol Police what they were working on, it turns out that they had moved the House Sergeant At Arms office, and they were renovating the recently-vacated old office.
Here's the member of the Capitol Police that I spoke with at right. Interesting job that the Capitol Police have, too. With tourists, the most common offense is standing or sitting on the wall that forms the end of the level that we were standing on. That earns you a whistle-blow, and a "get off the wall" reminder. The other big offense is people trying to carve their initials or something on the Capitol somewhere. That, according to the officer, is a federal felony, which will earn you a night at DC Central (the local jail) at the very least, and if convicted could land you in federal prison. Remember, though it may not seem like it to some, it is destruction of public property. Needless to say, I follow the "take only photos and leave only footsteps" rule. The officer also said that it's fairly routine normally, though they had to have much more security over Senator Jeffords due to threats he'd received due to his conversion from Republican to Independent/Democrat.
Out in front of the Capitol, there was a small performance going on. It was religious, and above you can see the singer, shielded by an umbrella, and below you can see the music people.
This quote from the Bible was posted nearby.
Down the street from the Capitol, on Pennsylvania Avenue, there was some sort of event going on. What it was, though, I don't know.
These planters have held many different plants over the years... in a book that we have about the Capitol, it shows flowers. Today, these planters were holding palms - quite fitting for the hot weather we were having on this day.
Down at the bottom of the Capitol, on the west side, I found an under-appreciated fountain. The book that I have on the Capitol doesn't mention it nor show a picture of it specifically, and it's really a nice, quiet place to think, indeed.
The Statue of Freedom is at the top of the dome, the main building in the center of the photo, and the fountain in the lower right-hand side is how it all fits into the Capitol as a whole.
Absolutely beautiful. The fountain, calm as ever, with the trees surrounding it with niches behind them, with the palms in the planters above...
Surrounded by the planters and the trees, the fountain is also home to lots of change, thrown both in the boxes, as well as elsewhere throughout the fountain.
There's those famous Capitol steps... well, one side of them. There's actually 80-some steps from the bottom to the top!
The flag also flies over the Capitol's west front.
This is a reflecting pool west of the Capitol. When I first visited the Capitol in 1994, we had walked up hill to the Capitol from the Smithsonian Metro station, in 20º weather. Needless to say, it was cold. Still, my mother said at that time that this is where all the congressmen went to try to snap off Hillary Clinton's bikini top, and that it was the first time since Rosalynn Carter that they were able to do it, because Nancy Reagan was too small, and Barbara Bush was too old. My mother now denies that she ever said it, but we know better...
A dog swims through the reflecting pool...
At the top of the Capitol Mall, there was an event going on called "Rekindling the Fire - Birth of a Nation". This was another religious event, this one not about just spreading the word, as it was at the Capitol, but with more of a political message.
Continue on to Part 3...
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