Up to Washington D.C. (life therein) - September 2011 and onward

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The Capitol and vicinity


Page 1 of 1.
Click on images below to enlarge:
Outside
The Capitol as seen approaching south-east through its grounds.
The Capitol, closer still. It has many layers.
A panorama of the eastern front of the Capitol.
Trees changing color on one part of the Capitol grounds.
The Capitol as seen approaching south-east through its grounds.
The Capitol, closer still. It has many layers.
A panorama of the eastern front of the Capitol.
Trees changing color on one part of the Capitol grounds.
A tunnel of fall trees on Constitution Avenue near the Taft Memorial.
The Taft Memorial--bet you didn't know this exists--is mainly a bell tower.
From the Capitol's west side, a high resolution shot of the lawn, the reflecting pool, and the Mall stretching all the way to the Washington Monument. I think the lone photographer in the bottom right is a nice touch. Excellent
A high-resolution photograph of the Capitol's elaborate wedding-cake western facade.
A tunnel of fall trees on Constitution Avenue near the Taft Memorial.
The Taft Memorial--bet you didn't know this exists--is mainly a bell tower.
From the Capitol's west side, a high resolution shot of the lawn, the reflecting pool, and the Mall stretching all the way to the Washington Monument. I think the lone photographer in the bottom right is a nice touch. Excellent
A high-resolution photograph of the Capitol's elaborate wedding-cake western facade.
One approach to the Capitol.
The requisite picture of the Capitol's reflecting pool, ducks, and kids.
Another shot of the Capitol and the west lawn.
The Capitol's western facade from farther off.
One approach to the Capitol.
The requisite picture of the Capitol's reflecting pool, ducks, and kids.
Another shot of the Capitol and the west lawn.
The Capitol's western facade from farther off.
Ditto, the Capitol's western facade, but higher resolution. It's amazing--view the full-size image to revel in the detail.
People (in this case a kid) climbed freely on the statues in the memorial to General/President Grant. I didn't think the main statues in this memorial were worthy of being photographed. Likewise, I skipped photographing the memorial to President Garfield.
The Washington Monument and the reflecting pool.
From this angle I like the look of the summerhouse (also known as the grotto) on the Capitol grounds.
Ditto, the Capitol's western facade, but higher resolution. It's amazing--view the full-size image to revel in the detail.
People (in this case a kid) climbed freely on the statues in the memorial to General/President Grant.
I didn't think the main statues in this memorial were worthy of being photographed.
Likewise, I skipped photographing the memorial to President Garfield.
The Washington Monument and the reflecting pool.
From this angle I like the look of the summerhouse (also known as the grotto) on the Capitol grounds.
The Peace Monument.
The houses on New Jersey Avenue near D Street SE have twenty-foot deep gardens facing the sidewalk. It's rather nice.
Townhouses on First Street SE.
The Capitol dome lit up after dusk, as seen from an upper-floor office in the National Gallery of Art's East Building.
The Peace Monument.
The houses on New Jersey Avenue near D Street SE have twenty-foot deep gardens facing the sidewalk. It's rather nice.
Townhouses on First Street SE.
The Capitol dome lit up after dusk, as seen from an upper-floor office in the National Gallery of Art's East Building.
Inside
This view of the Capitol dome reminds me of looking out a similar glass structure in the Louvre: one, two.
Emancipation Hall, the main hall in the Capitol Visitor Center. It has many statues, all (but a couple) of people I haven't heard of. It turns out each state donates two statues to be displayed somewhere in the Capitol. The eighteen most recent donations are displayed in Emancipation Hall.
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The original plaster cast for the Statue of Freedom (on the Capitol dome's roof).
This view of the Capitol dome reminds me of looking out a similar glass structure in the Louvre: one, two.
Emancipation Hall, the main hall in the Capitol Visitor Center. It has many statues, all (but a couple) of people I haven't heard of. It turns out each state donates two statues to be displayed somewhere in the Capitol. The eighteen most recent donations are displayed in Emancipation Hall.
The doors in the visitor center are very heavy. I bet they're meant to diminish the effects of a bomb blast.
The original plaster cast for the Statue of Freedom (on the Capitol dome's roof).
The Apotheosis of Washington, the fresco on the interior of the rotunda. He's becoming a god! (He's in the central circle.) Also note Neptune. He's holding a cable. At the time of the painting, an undersea cable was being laid between the U.S. and Britain. There's more symbolism the painting too (wikipedia has a list). Higher resolution images can be found on the Architect of the Capitol's web site.
A panoramic video of the inside of the rotunda. The paintings around the side, as with the fresco above, show scenes that Congress thought were important at the time. They're not necessarily historically accurate (but mostly are).
A close-up of the frieze below the Capitol dome.
A representative shot of rotunda, ground level to as high as I could squeeze in into the picture.
The Apotheosis of Washington, the fresco on the interior of the rotunda. He's becoming a god! (He's in the central circle.)
Also note Neptune. He's holding a cable. At the time of the painting, an undersea cable was being laid between the U.S. and Britain. There's more symbolism the painting too (wikipedia has a list). Higher resolution images can be found on the Architect of the Capitol's web site.
A panoramic video of the inside of the rotunda. The paintings around the side, as with the fresco above, show scenes that Congress thought were important at the time. They're not necessarily historically accurate (but mostly are).
A close-up of the frieze below the Capitol dome.
A representative shot of rotunda, ground level to as high as I could squeeze in into the picture.
A panoramic movie of statuary hall and its many statues. It was the former house chambers, a bad choice because of its generally poor acoustics. (Listen to the movie with sound to see what I mean.) My tour guide showed us a funky acoustic trick in this room like one finds in a whispering chamber where one person can stand in a particular spot far from another and they can whisper to each other and no one else can hear them. The tour guide said that sound travels along a parabola and showed us how the shape of the roof dictated which location in this room the tricked worked in.
A panoramic movie of statuary hall and its many statues. It was the former house chambers, a bad choice because of its generally poor acoustics. (Listen to the movie with sound to see what I mean.) My tour guide showed us a funky acoustic trick in this room like one finds in a whispering chamber where one person can stand in a particular spot far from another and they can whisper to each other and no one else can hear them. The tour guide said that sound travels along a parabola and showed us how the shape of the roof dictated which location in this room the tricked worked in.
Fodder for Capitol East Front Panorama