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Washington, D.C.

After about 10 minutes of waiting the group gets the go-ahead to walk to the South Visitor Receiving Facility. Once there they tell us to stow away our cameras for the time being. They then herd us all into the facility, afterwhich we listen to a talk about the do's and don't of attending their guided tour. Soon enough they march us to a back entrance of the U.S. Capital Building where we enter into the Capitol Rotunda. They haven't told us it's okay to take pictures yet, so everyone in the group just listens to the tour guide give his talk.

Wrapping up his talk about the Capitol Rotunda, the tour guide remembers to tell us it's okay to take pictures in the Rotunda. D-uh! So I'm forced to take these rushed shots as they move us into the Capitol Building's South Wing.

The Rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and 180 feet in height. Wow! That's a whopping 18 stories. A total of 8 large historical paintings adorn the walls, above them I find 4 wreathed panels and the busts of 4 famous early settlers. Lastly, above each of the 4 entrances I spy individual relief panels depicting scenes from early American history.

Just below the 36 windows that encircle the dome I find a dramatic frescoed frieze. It depicts American history, from the landing of Columbus to the birth of aviation. All told there are 19 individual scenes that are specially painted to give the illusion of being sculpted relief.

High overhead I see this dramatic fresco. Here's a better picture of it. The painting features George Washington, who's draped in a purple robe, and is part of a circle of 15 characters; Liberty, Victory, and 13 women who represent the original thirteen colonies. All are surrounded by scenes containing various mythical characters.

The tour brings us into Statuary Hall. For 50 years this place used to be the meeting hall of the U.S. House of Representatives. Also known as the Old Hall of the House, the two-story, semi-circular room is now the exhibition space for the National Statue Hall Collection.