The United States Capitol building serves as the location for the United States Congress, which is the legislative branch of the US federal government. It is located at the opposite end of the National Mall to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. Though on the geographic centre of DC, the Capitol is the point from which it is divided into quadrants.
The stand out feature of the building is the central dome above the rotunda. It is impressive to view from the outside and even more impressive inside looking straight up. There are two wings to the building, one for each chamber of the Congress - the Senate and House of Representatives.
The Capitol has undergone several upgrades since it's original design but the first corner stone was laid by George Washington on 18 Sep 1793. The central dome was not added until the 1850's and 1860's and was actually a replacement of earlier, smaller domes. The bronze statue on top of the dome is Freedom a female allegorical figure who holds a sheathed sword in her right hand and a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes in her left hand. She wears a helmet adorned with stars and an eagle's head. It is reported to weigh approximately 6,800kg.
Various art works are everywhere throughout the Capitol building. The entire building is one big piece of art. The tour that we took mainly concentrated on the rotunda and the statue hall but I'm sure if there was an art type tour through the building it could go on for hours. Around the walls of the rotunda are several large paintings depicting important events in the history of the US. These include "The Declaration of Independence", "The Surrender of General Burgoyne" and "Surrender of Lord Cornwallis".
They also use the rotunda to lay Presidents and other important people in state before their funeral. The last person to lay in state was President Gerald Ford. People are then given the opportunity to pass through the rotunda and pay their respects.
Tours of the Capitol are free, though you have to arrive at the visitors centre when it opens (9am) to get tickets. You are allotted a tour time but it is certainly worth the effort to get the tickets. You also have to be able to allocated the whole day as even though you may arrive early, doesn't mean your tour will be just as early. We were there at 9:30am but because we were so far down the line our tour wasn't until 2:30pm. That said it's a must see.
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