Capitol Dome Tour and more...

Hey folks,

Well today was amazing. It was one of those typical D.C. days where when I lay my head on the pillow at 12:30am, I never could imagine what I was going to see when I lifting my head off the pillow some 18 hours before. Let's get started:

The congressman's office scheduled a tour of the White House for the other interns and me. I had been there on a tour about 10 years ago., but I didn't remember too much about it. It was actually much easier to get through security than I imagined.

It was really cool to see some of the rooms. They only show us the East Wing, which includes the State Dining Room, the Red Room, Blue Room, and the Library. We also saw the East Room. It is where most presidents hold their press conferences and other major ceremonies. It was kinda odd to be in a room I'm so used to seeing on television. They didn't allow pictures inside the White House, but don't worry I'll make up for it in just a bit...

When I got back to the office, they asked us if we wanted to go on a tour of the Capitol Dome. I jumped at the opportunity! I had heard about it just a few weeks earlier. These tours are very rare and most people never get the chance. You need to be escorted with a member of Congress and obviously, their schedules don't usually permit. During the tour, Congressman Camp told me that the last one he did was about 4 or 5 years ago! There was 7 of us in the group: Congressman Camp and his friends of his family, another staffer, the other intern, and me. We also had an amazing tourguide named Vernon, who led us up the over 600 stairs on the tour.

On right, you can see the route we took. Me being my creative self, used paint to outline it in red. We first went outside the present dome and saw where the old dome stood. (It's the grey bowl-shaped one in the map) It was made of copper and wood. They tore it down because it was a fire hazard and it also leaked when it rained.

We then took the original staircase from the old dome to head to the first balcony above the rotunda. (It's the first dot on the map) It was pretty high up, but little did I know I hadn't seen anything yet. From there, we could see the legendary frieze painted by three artists. A frieze is a painting that looks almost 3-d. It was designed by Constantino Brumidi in the 1870s. Brumidi is known as the Artist of the Capitol, painting the famed Brumidi corridors and a fresco on the rotunda ceiling. As Brumidi was about half done with the frieze, he slipped off his scaffolding and fell. However, his arm got caught in the rope and was broken. He hung stranded in mid-air for 15 minutes until someone came to his aid. About a month and a half later, Brumidi died of a heart attack. The work was taken up by his apprentice Filippo Costaggini. After painting another 1/3 of the mural, Costaggini was fired after the architect of the Capitol found out that he was planning to scrap Brumidi's own design for his own. The space lay dormant until the 1950s when Allyn Cox finished the frieze.

Here are a few photos:

Looking across you can see the frieze.

This is the view from the first balcony of the fresco on the ceiling (but more on that in a bit). Take note of those octagons around the top...


...because they open!! I never knew that! Apparently, it was to keep the rotunda cool before air conditioning.

We then made our way to the very top of the rotunda. It was really, really high up there. I didn't mind looking down but it was so hard to put my camera over the edge. I was so afraid I was going to drop it! Being up there that high also gave me a great look at Brumidi's fresco. It is called The Apotheosis of George Washington. Apotheosis essentially means "to take into heaven." It shows 13 maidens, and two other women (standing for freedom and liberty) around George Washington. On the outsides, it shows scenes of defense, seapower, commerce, and electricity.

Below you can see the view looking down.....(how cool is that?!)

I also took advantage of the scene to grab a picture with the Congressman.

Our next stop was heading outside to the very top of the Capitol. Remember the last post where I told you about the Statue of Freedom? To give you reference, we were about 10 feet under the statue. The view was unbelievable!!! I could see all of Washington and into Virginia!

There's the Supreme Court.

The National Mall of course!

There's the view looking up!

Wow, I love this town!

My third cool moment of the day was totally by chance. I was heading to class and had just come out of the Dupont Circle Metro station when I saw a familiar face trying to hail a cab. I kept thinking to myself that I had seen him in newspaper and on TV before. Then, it hit me! It was former Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson. (He was the Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush and orchestrated that bailout last fall.) Here's his wikipedia page just in case http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Paulson He couldn't seem to hail a cab, so I thought quickly. I walked over to him and said "Excuse me, Mr. Paulson. If you sign this for me, I'll help you hail a cab." Sure enough, he signed my notepad and I helped him flag down a taxi. Haha! I now have the same signature that is printed on all the money in U.S.

Only in Washington folks. Only in Washington!

My parents are heading down this weekend! It'll be really nice to see them. In the meantime, take care!