Washington, Part 6
The Supreme Court of the United States meets in a stunning marble building across 1st Street from the Capitol, right next door to the Library of Congress. Up the steps past the columns and in the long lobby are floors and walls of marble, too. You’d think they stripped an entire quarry bare to build it. The ceiling is as similarly elaborate.
On the day I was there it was possible to wait for a few minutes before being led into the chamber for a short lecture about the history and of the court, the building, and an explanation of what happens on days in which the court hears argument. The lecture was given by a young law clerk. Photos of the chamber are not permitted, but the Court’s website has some to see. Elsewhere in the building was an amazing spiral staircase.
The US Botanic Garden is a pleasant diversion. It sits right on the west side of the Capitol. It’s not an especially large structure, and many of the plants are of the sort you can find at your local nursery, it’s a pleasant place. I liked the glass roof.
One of the most amazing places I have ever been in my life is the Library of Congress. The building is impressive in and of itself, and the lobby is even fancier than the Capitol, but what’s inside is beyond compare. Right past the front door is a perfect vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible, one of only four in the world. Upstairs, past an exhibit that included dozens of historic pages handwritten by Washington, Jefferson and many other founding fathers, is Thomas Jefferson’s own library. It’s displayed in a circular case, and I spied within a copy of Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language in two large volumes. After browsing, I had to use the bathroom of congress, which, oddly, had no urinals.
Later: the National Archives and the Washington Monument.
Filed under: History, Literature and Books, Travel on November 23rd, 2008
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