Do you have a memory of a building or a memorial that you visited? This is a second part of a series of blogs on the US Capitol. For more than 10 years I’ve been working as a professional tour guide, leading groups, working with families, sharing experiences with individuals of this beautiful city called Washington, DC. I’ve walked in the Shaw neighborhood and had lunch at Ben’s Chili Bowl, made famous by President Obama’s visit. I’ve walked the Tidal Bason and the National Mall, exalted the view on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The US Capitol is the most favorite place for me. It’s stories are unique and relevant to our lives in a democracy today. Of course, the pandemic shut the US Capitol’s doors and the tour guiding professional took a hit. But that time at home helped me to develop and deepen my love of French language, art, literature, and history, and to see the connects and links for my own country’s art, literature, and history. Happily, guiding is back in full swing and we guides are busy.
I have come to love the US Capitol with its sweeping West Façade, now under cover for repairs. Its elegant symmetry, its dome inside of a dome with Freedom standing at the top. Her silhouette reveals an unusual cap of feathers and tobacco. There is no French word for “Freedom.” But there are three in French words that mean “Freedom.” They are “Liberté (Liberty), Egalité (Equality), Fraternité (Fraternity.)” The stories of the US Capitol abound, leaving me in awe. The original number of pillars was too few to hold up the weight of a cast-iron dome. The pillars had to be removed and more and newer ones put in place. The pillars inside the crypt hold up the dome as well. But once the new pillars were put in place, the new and heavy dome was lifted, swung over on a crane, and placed ever so carefully. A dome was built inside the exterior dome and Constantino Brumidi painted the “Apotheosis of George Washington” on the inside of the interior dome. It is beautiful. There are thirten goddesses, each with a star, representing the original thirteen colonies which became states. The goddess of wisdom and war, daughter of Zeus, Athena, holding a Captain America-like shield, is present with Neptune. More figures and images are included in this airy, spacious depiction of the icon which is George Washington. There is more to this painting.
The US Capitol is like a fortress today. But it wasn’t like that in the 1960’s when I visited DC on a beloved annual family trip. My parents each summer took us on a family road trip to places in American so that we could see our country, learn about our history, travel and open our eyes. In DC we walked right up a flight of stairs and entered the Rotunda of the Capitol. At least that is what I remember. When I first saw the Capitol, I asked my dad if it were the White House. My father patiently replied, “No, this is where we make the laws in a democracy by people we vote for. We are fortunate to have this right.” I thought the Capitol looked like a helmet. One night I saw the Rotunda lit up an glowing. the helmet changed to a beacon of a fragile experiment, the experiment of democracy and needed protection. The US Capitol stood out in my memory I knew I would be back.