Walking 3 blocks from Union Station to the Capitol, I entered the underground, 3 level, almost 600,000 square foot Visitors Center, completed in 2008 for $621 million. There I got in line for a free visitor pass and was ushered into a theater for a 13 minute movie about the Capitol and Congress. Next I met Vernon, one of the many guides for the hour long tour. We first walked into Statuary Hall where I learned that Lewis Cass (who I knew as a governor and senator) and Zachariah Chandler represented the state of Michigan. (I later found out Chandler was a Detroit mayor, senator and was also Secretary of the Interior under President Grant.) I thought Henry Ford might have been a logical choice for one of Michigan's 2 statues and was told by Vernon that I could lobby for someone else.
Next I entered the Rotunda. The Rotunda rises 180 feet and is used for many ceremonial events, including the lying in state of honored people. The Frieze of History, a painted band below the 36 windows depicts 19 scenes from Columbus to the Pilgrims to the Wright Brothers. In the dome of the Rotunda is the very large fresco painting The Apotheosis of Washington. Eight niches in the Rotunda hold large framed historical paintings including The Landing of Columbus, pained in 1847 by John Vanderlyn.
