Ahoy - Mac's Web Log

The Statue of Freedom on top of Capitol Dome

In 2000, when staying with our friend Captain Frank Costagliola USN R'td. at his home in Alexandria Virginia, it was suggested we might like to visit the Capitol, the home of government in the United States. Post war, Frank had been appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to the Atomic Energy Commission of the United States, and later held the appointment of Atomic Energy Advisor to Congress.

Design Contest.
In March of 1792 a design contest was set up for the US Capitol, although 16 designs were submitted, all were subjected to rejection, then a late entry from William Thornton, an amateur architect hailing from the British West Indies caught the eye of President Washington who liked its:" Grandeur, Simplicity and Commonsense."  it was selected in the fall of that year.

The white iron dome is surmounted by a statue of a woman representing Freedom, the height from the base at the eastern front to the top of this statue is 87.6 metres or 287.5 feet.

Our Visit.
We duly drove to the Capitol where a huge queue confronted us, many waiting were school children who had travelled from all over the US. Instead of waiting patiently in this queue, Frank, with us in his wake, quickly strode to its head to confront an official there. He obviously still retained his credentials to allow access to this area, he explained his two guests were visitors from Australia, and we were wisked inside to go through the security check and enter the precincts of the Capitol.

We visited the Rotunda, the magnificent and spacious area beneath the huge dome, which of course has been replicated in architecture around the globe. It has an amazing frieze around its periphery towards the top of this structure, one ponders on how the large dome came to be lifted into place when the Capitol was built, no modern electric cranes available to the builders in those days.

Under the Dome, at the Capitol

As the Senate was in session, we were able to find seats in the Visitors Gallery and observe some of the well known law makers of the United States in action. Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy being two of them, quite an experience to sit, watch, and listen to the Senators of the world's richest and most powerful nation debating a bill associated with the health care of their people.

The Capitol is a popular destination on the tourist trail in Washington for the many citizens who come to visit here, drawn from all the States that go to make up this great nation. As outsiders, we too were grateful to join this throng, and be able to visit this historic place and also see the Senate in action, it was a most rewarding visit that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you Frank.

US Capitol's Dome surmounted by the statue of a woman to signify Freedom

US Capitol's Dome surmounted by the statue of a woman to signify Freedom

The Statue of Freedom on top of Capitol Dome

Under the Dome, at the Capitol

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