THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON JOSEPH B. VARNUM

On the 18th of September, 1793, the south-east corner-stone of the Capitol was laid by Washington, and a minute account of the ceremonial appears in the Maryland Gazette, published at Annapolis, September 26, 1793. It is mostly devoted to the Masonic ceremonial so usual at that day, in which “Lodge 22 of Virginia, that congregation so graceful to the craft,” figures largely with “Grand Master P. J. Geo. Washington, Worshipful Master” of said Lodge. We are also told that there appeared “on the southern banks of the grand river Potomac, one of the finest companies of artillery that hath been lately seen, parading to receive the President of the U. S.” The Commissioners delivered to the President, who deposited in the stone, a silver plate with the following inscription:

“This south-east corner-stone of the Capitol of the United States of America in the City of Washington was laid on the 18th day of September, 1792, in the thirteenth year of American Independence, in the first year of the second term of the Presidency of George Washington, whose virtues in the civil administration of his country have been so conspicuous and beneficial, as his military valour and prudence have been useful in establishing her liberties, and in the year of Masonry, 5793, by the President of the United States, in concert with the Grand Lodge of Maryland, several lodges under its jurisdiction, and Lodge, No. 22, from Alexandria, Virginia.

“Thomas Johnson, David Stewart, and Daniel Carroll, Commissioners; Joseph Clark, R. W. G. M. P. T., James Hoban and Stephen Hallate, Architects; Colin Williamson, M. Mason.”

A Mr. Clotworthy Stevenson made an address, and the account concludes as follows:

“The whole company retired to an extensive booth where an ox of 500 lbs. weight was barbecued, of which the company generally partook, with every abundance of other recreation. The festival concluded with fifteen successive volleys from the artillery, whose military discipline and manœuvres merit every commendation.

“Before dark the whole company departed with joyful hopes of the production of their labour.”

The first object which attracts the traveller’s attention as he enters Washington by rail is the Capitol.

It is not unusual on the Continent to see a noble cathedral surrounded by miserable tumble-down structures, many of which are so ancient as to indicate that the shrine never had an appropriate setting; and this circumstance makes the surroundings of the Capitol a matter of less remark to a foreigner than to an American whose first impressions are that the edifice never will have any buildings around in keeping with its own grandeur.

As you approach the city from the Potomac, the public buildings all appear to great advantage, being on high ground and rising far above the private buildings which do not shock by contrast. It is to be regretted that circumstances have led to the erection of a large proportion of the private buildings at the west and the abandonment, to a great extent, of Capitol Hill, which, at the first occupation, was regarded as the most desirable.

Mr. Trollope and others have descanted upon the mistake made in placing the principal front of the Capitol towards the east. But when the building was commenced there was reason for supposing that at least an equal part of the city buildings would be on that side. Besides, such porticos seem to require a level plane or plaza in front, rather than a descent like that on the west. The advantage of this is very apparent, since the porticos are naturally selected for all the great ceremonies, inaugurations and public gatherings. There is abundance of standing room here for any crowd, however great.

The dome is most appropriately surmounted by Crawford’s bronze statue of Liberty (itself 16½ feet in height) is 287 feet 5 inches above the basement of the Capitol, or about 142 feet higher than the old dome. St. Peter’s at Rome to the top of the lantern is 145 feet higher. St. Paul’s in London, 73 feet higher.

The Capitol Hill is about 90 feet above ordinary low tide.

The Capitol is 751 feet 4 inches long, which is 31 feet longer than St. Peter’s and 175 feet longer than St. Paul’s.

As compared with European edifices, there are few, if any, that have as imposing a front as the three eastern porticos present. Of course no comparison can be made with Gothic structures like the Parliament Houses in London. St. Peter’s Church, at first glance, almost always disappoints the visitor in its exterior; and it is only from a distance, where you see nothing of the front, that the majestic proportions of the dome are realized. There is an abruptness in the manner in which that front rises, with no relief except in a small piazza, which seems as out of place as the one on the western front of the Capitol. At the Capitol, the spectator, at a distance of one or two hundred feet, has the whole structure in all its outlines before him.

Most persons who visit the Capitol for the first time, have their attention so much absorbed in the extension, that they overlook the objects of interest in the central edifice. Yet there is no room in the new buildings comparable in beauty to the old Representatives’ Hall. The new halls for the Senate and House may present acoustic advantages, and certainly accommodate the public much better, but no room without columns can present as imposing an effect as one with them. And such columns! There is nothing like them elsewhere. That brecchia, or pudding-stone, is too costly to work, ever to be brought into general use. They cost over eight thousand dollars apiece, and there are twenty-four of them. And there is no more beautiful piece of sculpture in the building than the clock in this hall, representing History on a winged car, the wheel of which forms the dial.

The old Hall, too, is memorable as the scene where all the great men for the first half century of the Republic figured. Here Clay presided, Webster made his début, Adams died! And how full of associations with historical names is every part of the cosy old Senate Chamber, now appropriately occupied by the Supreme Court! Not one person in a hundred notices the tobacco-leaf capitals of the circular colonnade between this room and the Rotunda; and still fewer ever think of going down the neighbouring staircase to look at the corn-stalk columns which ornament the entrance to the room formerly occupied by the Supreme Court.

Every visitor to the new wings of the Capitol must have remarked upon the fact that, with the exception of the staircases, the most costly decorations have been lavished upon rooms which are only accessible to the public at limited times, or by sufferance of those having them in charge. One naturally expects to see the results of artistic skill to the greatest extent in the Halls of the Senate and House, as is the case in the centre building. It seems well enough that marble and frescoes should be used in such rooms as those appropriated to the President and Vice-President and the Senators’ retiring-room, the last of which, all of marble, is the gem of the building. But why so many thousands should have been expended on committee rooms, or in painting corridors which are too dark to be seen to advantage, is not apparent. The only reason ever assigned is, that it was desirable to experiment here on different styles of ornament.

There is no marble whatever in the Senate Chamber, and none, except the Speaker’s and Clerk’s desks in the House. This deficiency is the more noticed because of the extent to which this beautiful material is used on the staircases leading to the galleries, which are universally admired. But here it is remarkable that three of the staircases are of the same material. The Tennessee marble is certainly beautiful, but so is the white polished marble of the stairs leading to the west gallery of the Senate.

Another criticism upon the two Halls is that they are so much alike. The main difference is that one is smaller than the other. Conceding that, in certain respects, they had to be alike,—as in the oblong shape and the flat ceiling for acoustic purposes, and the construction of galleries so as to afford an uninterrupted view,—there was surely opportunity for a man of taste to have devised a finish which would have been more distinctive. One of them might have had some windows opening upon the outer world. Both are now placed in the interior, without a window on any side. It is true that they are well lighted both by night and day through the glass ceilings, and so far as we have observed the ventilation is good; yet it seems a pity that the rooms had not been constructed with windows, even if they were not to be opened.

Nothing in the old Halls was more refreshing to members, or more agreeable to spectators in the gallery, than the glimpse of green trees afforded through the windows, and such windows would have been the more attractive here, opening as they would have done upon the small porticos north and south. This was Mr. Walter’s plan, as appears by his report made in 1852.

It is pleasant to perceive that the architect has taken a hint from the corn-stalk columns, and shown more boldness and originality than is usual with his profession in departing from the regularly prescribed orders in regard to capitals and other ornamental work. A fine row of monolithic columns is to be seen on the floor of the south extension, under the Representatives’ Hall, the capitals of which are composed of the tobacco and thistle. The twenty-four columns and forty pilasters in the grand vestibules are entirely original, the capitals being composed of corn-leaves, tobacco and magnolias—each of the faces of the columns, as well as the pilasters, has a magnolia, all different in form, and all made from casts of the natural flower. The ornamentations of the ceiling and cornices in the Senate and House are all drawn from the natural products of the country. In the Representatives’ Hall are many rosettes composed of the cotton plant in its various stages of growth. No one can fail to observe and admire the exquisite statues of Franklin and Hancock, which are appropriately placed in niches opposite the staircases to the Senate gallery. The landings of the staircases furnished most appropriate places for large paintings; like that of Leutze, which improves upon acquaintance and causes every one to linger as he goes to or returns from the gallery of the House.