Because this is our 4th of July weekend in the U.S.A. I thought it would be good to post my photos of the U.S. Capitol and the Statue of Freedom that crowns the Capitol Dome.

Statue of Freedom

The bronze Statue of Freedom crowns the dome of the U.S. Capitol. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle’s head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. A brooch inscribed “U.S.” secures her fringed robes.

U.S. Capitol Building

The Capitol building is one of the most symbolically important buildings in the United States. President Washington laid the cornerstone on 18 September 1793, and it has housed the meeting chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate for two centuries.

Nothing in the United States symbolizes democracy more than the U.S. Capitol Building. For nearly two centuries, it has been home to both chambers of Congress and has evolved and expanded as times changed and the nation grew. The building itself has more than 16 acres of space and 540 rooms. The Capitol Grounds cover about 274 acres with sloping lawns, splashing fountains and beautiful terraces.

The statue at Emancipation Hall is a plaster model of the Statue of Freedom. The actual Statue of Freedom sits high atop the U.S. Capitol Dome. The plaster cast gives visitors a good idea of what the real thing looks like.

This is a small view of the inner dome and canopy over the Capitol Rotunda. I’ll have another post of more photos from the inside of the Capitol on another day. E Pluribus Unum ~ Out of many one. E pluribus unum was suggested by the committee Congress appointed on July 4, 1776 to design “a seal for the United States of America.”
E Pluribus Unum still appears on U.S. coins even though it is no longer the official national motto! That honor was given to In God We Trust in 1956 by an Act of Congress.

Hope you enjoyed these views of our Nations Capitol and a great symbol of freedom. That’s what we celebrate every 4th of July.

We’ve been getting our patio all ready to go for our 4th of July celebration hoping that we get our long awaited summer for many days in a row! Hope your weekend is going well!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.