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Anna Phillips-Brown

Brazinski

September 14, 2015

Visiting the Capitol Building

As a Northern Virginia inhabitant, a visit to the Capitol building is not much of an

excursion for me. In fact many of my field trips through my years of elementary, middle and

high school included field trips to such attractions including the Capitol itself. However, when

given the opportunity to further explore anything, no matter how familiar, it should be taken

advantage of. So when my father came to CUA as an audience member for a fundraiser for the

musical theatre department, we took the opportunity to do just that: visit the structure we knew

and loved so well but with a little more insight. Upon a visit to the Capitol building, one can

discover many underlying meanings and facts about the nationally beloved and renowned

structure.

It may go unnoticed that the Capitol building, while clearly a government based structure,

has some religious connotations. For example, when walking up the steps to the front of the

looming dome, one may notice a neatly sculpted row of notorious lawmakers. Among these

figures is Moses himself, proudly displaying the Ten Commandments. Extremely appropriate, as

Moses could easily be considered one of the first people to issue and enforce any kind of

behavioral guidelines among any society, much like our government does today as an intricate

system.

Unlike the Moses cameo, the construction resulting in the surrounding of the structure

with latticed scaffolding is extremely noticeable, and considered by many to be distracting and
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gaudy. Once the sun has set, however, and the DC nightlife makes its way out of the woodwork,

it brings with it a multicolored, twinkling array of lights scattered among the local hangouts and

monuments. Included is the Capitol of course, but the scaffolding that earlier may have seemed

intrusive, now serves as a reflecting board for the lights shining out of the iconic figure. The

guest structure, so to speak, adds a futuristic taste to the classic almost Grecian style architecture,

graciously contributing to the slick ambiance of the city as a whole.

Finally, at the apex of the dome of the building, there is what appears to be a small fairy-

like adornment. This is the Statue of Freedom, which when brought into realistic perspective is

actually roughly 288 feet tall. This addition allows the Capitol to be recognized as one of the

tallest structures in the district. The figure was crafted out of bronze in 1863 by Thomas

Crawford, who sculpted three pieces from which the statue would be selected to crown the great

patriotic dome. The statue was meant to inspire Americans during the struggle to bring an end to

slavery and survive the brutally gruesome civil war. It served as a symbol that all people would

be free one day in a nation built on justice and freedom.

Frankly, I did not expect to get a lot out of visiting a landmark I’ve seen thousands of

times as a product of growing up 45 minutes south of Washington DC. I was, however,

pleasantly surprised by the multitude of fun facts I was greeted with, some before I even got

through the front door. The experience serves as the perfect example of how there is always

more discovering to be done, regardless of location, familiarity, or expectations. I would highly

encourage others to dig deeper into their own local history to see what they may find in the

archives of our nation’s upbringing. You genuinely never do know what you may discover in

your own backyard.