BGuthrie Photos: DC -- U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (Emancipation Hall)

DC -- U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (Emancipation Hall):

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1. CAPVC_120106_002.JPG: Mother Joseph Statue The Basics Artist: Felix W. de Weldon Materials: Bronze Year 1980 Location: Emancipation Hall, Capitol Visitor Center This statue of Mother Joseph was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Washington in 1980. On April 16, 1823, Esther Pariseau was born in St. Elzear near Montreal, Canada. At the age of 20, when she entered the Sisters of Charity of Providence in Montreal, her carriage-maker father remarked, "I bring you my daughter, Esther, who wishes to dedicate herself to the religious life. She can read, write, figure accurately, sew, cook, spin and do all manner of housework. She can even do carpentering, handling a hammer and saw as well as her father. She can also plan for others and she succeeds in anything she undertakes. I assure you, Madam, she will make a good superior some day." In 1856, Mother Joseph was chosen to lead a group of five missionaries to the Pacific Northwest Territories of the United States. There she was responsible for the completion of 11 hospitals, seven academies, five Indian schools, and two orphanages throughout an area that today encompasses Washington, northern Oregon, Idaho and Montana. An architect and artist, she was actually responsible for designing the buildings, supervising their construction, and fund raising. Each of her "begging tours" into mining camps lasted several months and raised between $2,000 and $5,000 toward the realization of her goal. A stickler for detail, Mother Joseph often inspected rafters and bounced on planks to ensure their support. Mother Joseph died of a brain tumor in 1902, leaving a legacy of humanitarian service. She is recognized as one of the first architects in the Northwest. The above was from https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/mother-joseph-statue
2. CAPVC_120106_018.JPG: Joseph Ward South Dakota 1838-1889 Humanitarian Churchman Educator Statesman Founder of Yankton College
3. CAPVC_120106_023.JPG: Maria L. Sanford Minnesota
4. CAPVC_120106_032.JPG: The Model for the Statue of Freedom The full-size plaster model for the Statue of Freedom was used to cast the bronze statue on top of the Capitol dome. Freedom wears a helmet encircled with stars and topped with an eagle's head and feathers, the talons hanging at either side of her face. Her long, curly hair flows down her back. Her dress is secured with a brooch with the letters "US," and she is draped with a fur-trimmed robe. Her right hand holds a sheathed sword, the left a laurel wreath of victory and the striped shield of the United States. The model, which had been stored in pieces for many years, was restored in 1992 by the Architect of the Capitol with funds donated to the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission. It was on display in the Russell Senate Office Building before being moved to Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Design: American sculptor Thomas Crawford was already working on other sculptures for the Capitol in his studio in Rome when he was chosen to design the figure to top the new Capitol dome. In his first version, Freedom wore a wreath of wheat and laurel. After he saw the drawing of the dome, Crawford created a second design with a liberty cap, the emblem of freed slaves in ancient Rome and a symbol of liberty during the American and French revolutions. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis objected to this symbol as "inappropriate to a people who were born free" and suggested a helmet. The approved third design includes a helmet topped with an eagle head and feathers, in homage to the American Indian. The Casting of the Bronze: The original plaster model, shipped from Rome to the United States in five main sections, was used to make the mold for the final bronze that stands atop the Capitol. Clark Mills cast the statue in his foundry at the edge of the District of Columbia from 1860 to 1862. It was made by pressing the pieces into fine, moist sand to create a negative. After a core was formed, molten bronze was poured into a half-inch space to create the hollow figure. Fifteen thousand pounds of copper, 1,500 pounds of tin, and 200 pounds of zinc were needed to cast the 19 �-foot statue. One of Mills's most valued assistants was his highly skilled slave Philip Reid, whom he described as "an expert and admirable workman." Reid and the other slaves in Mills's foundry were paid only when they worked on Sundays. After he was emancipated in 1862, Reid assisted Mills during the moving and temporary placement of the bronze statue on the Capitol grounds. Installation: The bronze Statue of Freedom was given an acid wash, which produced a distinctive bronze-green patina. It was lifted to the Capitol dome in sections. The placing of the head, on December 2, 1863, was marked by a 35-gun salute and answered by guns from the 12 forts that encircled the city during the Civil War. ... Restoring the Original Statue: While the statue had been cleaned in place over the years, in 1991 it was determined that to fully restore the statue, it would have to come down. On May 9, 1993, Freedom was lifted from its pedestal and lowered onto the east front plaza. The conservation effort included removing corrosion and caulk and stripping the interior paint. Repairs included 750 bronze plugs and patches. Chemicals were applied to restore the patina, and the bronze was given protective coatings. The cast iron pedestal was cleaned, repaired, and painted in place atop the dome. The statue was lifted back in place by helicopter in September 1993, the bicentennial of the laying of the first cornerstone of the Capitol.
5. CAPVC_120106_046.JPG: Raoul Wallenberg Bust The bronze portrait bust of Raoul Wallenberg was donated to the United States Congress in 1995. The shaft was a gift from the government of Sweden. The Basics Artist: Miri Margolin Materials: Bronze Year: 1995 Location: Emancipation Hall, Capitol Visitor Center Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish humanitarian who worked at his country's legation in Budapest during World War II and used his diplomatic status to save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews threatened by the occupying Nazi forces and their Hungarian collaborators. His determination and accomplishments in the face of great opposition and personal danger have made him a figure honored around the world. Born into a prominent and wealthy family near Stockholm on August 4, 1912, Raoul Wallenberg came to the United States in 1931 to study architecture at the University of Michigan. When he returned to Sweden and was unable to find work as an architect, he obtained positions with a Swedish firm in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Holland Bank in Haifa (today in northern Israel). In 1936, he returned to his native country and joined an export-import company owned by a Hungarian Jew, Kalman Lauer. After Hungary's adoption of anti-Jewish policies in 1938, Wallenberg learned Hungarian and in 1941 began frequent trips to Budapest, where Lauer could no longer travel easily. When the persecution and deportation of Hungarian Jews became widely known in 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board to take action to rescue Jews from Nazi extermination. The Board's representative in Sweden, Ivor Olsen, identified Wallenberg as a person who could lead this effort in Hungary with funding and assistance from the U.S. Department of State. Wallenberg agreed to go to Budapest to undertake this task. The Swedish government assisted by designating Wallenberg as a first secretary in the Swedish Legation in Budapest. Wallenberg worked with a colleague in the Swedish Legation and with Jewish organizations in Budapest to save Jewish lives. One of his creative innovations was to issue what Germans called Shutz-Passe (protective passports), which identified individuals as Swedish subjects, and thus not eligible for deportation to death camps. Though the documents were not legally valid, they did save the lives of many Hungarian Jews. With funds provided by the United States government, Wallenberg also rented 32 buildings and declared them Swedish diplomatic facilities, thus protected by diplomatic immunity. Eventually, an estimated 13,000 people were housed there; among them was the young Tom Lantos, who would later become the only Holocaust survivor elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. For his own safety, Wallenberg slept in a different house each night. As the Soviet Army reached the outskirts of Budapest, and it was clear that the Nazis would lose Hungary, German military authorities planned to destroy the central Budapest Ghetto and kill the estimated 70,000 Jews there. Wallenberg learned of the plan and sent a message to SS General August Schmidthuber, commander in Budapest, telling him that if he destroyed the ghetto, he (Wallenberg) would personally see that Schmidthuber was tried for murder and genocide in the War Crimes Tribunal being planned after the end of the war. In January 1945, the Soviet Army liberated the city of Budapest and Nazi troops withdrew to the West. Wallenberg was directed by the Soviet commander in Hungary to come to the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, where his headquarters was located. The day he left Budapest, Soviet leaders issued a secret order for Wallenberg's arrest. He was taken to Moscow's infamous Lubyanka Prison, and he was never seen outside prison after that time. In 1956, Soviet officials requested a report on the fate of Wallenberg. The report said he had died of a heart attack in 1947. It also indicated that he had been arrested for spying for Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. Although Soviet officials said he had died in 1947, reports that Wallenberg was still alive in the Soviet Gulag were circulating until as late as 1991. Family members and others concerned about his fate continued to press the Soviet Government for information. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, additional intelligence information was made public, but no satisfactory explanation of his fate has been forthcoming. In October 1981, Raoul Wallenberg was made an honorary citizen of the United States with the adoption of legislation introduced by Representative Lantos and signed by President Ronald Reagan, and he was honored on a U.S. postage stamp in 1997. The Bust The smaller-than-life-size bust seems to capture Raoul Wallenberg's modesty and slim physique. Wallenberg's head is positioned looking straight ahead and his facial expression is solemn. The sculptor, Miri Margolin, depicted the subject's strong nose and showed him in a business suit and tie. The surface is enlivened by the tool marks in the original rough clay from which the bronze was cast. The shaft of polished Swedish granite, on which the bust sits, was a gift from the government of Sweden. In June 1994, Congress adopted a resolution "to accept a bust of Raoul Wallenberg and to place the bust in an appropriate location in the Capitol" (H. Con. Res. 222). The bust was donated by Mrs. Lillian Hoffman of Denver, Colorado, the organizer of the Colorado Committee of Concern for Soviet Jewry and chairperson of the Raoul Wallenberg National Commission. On November 2, 1995, it was dedicated at a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda; the unveiling was performed by Ms. Nina Lagergren, Raoul Wallenberg's sister, as well as Mrs. Lantos, the sculptor, and the donor. Remarks were made by the Speakers of the Hungarian parliament, the Knesset of Israel, and the Swedish parliament in addition to members of the congressional leadership. After being displayed in the Capitol's first-floor small House rotunda for 14 years, the bust was placed in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center in April 2009, as approved by the Joint Committee on the Library. The Sculptor Israeli sculptor Miri Margolin, the aunt of former Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu, created the bronze bust. Born in Poland, she immigrated to Israel with her family in 1920. Originally a ceramic artist, she began creating portraits to be cast in bronze late in her career; her first depicted her nephew who died commanding the rescue of Jewish hostages held in Entebbe, Uganda. She then created a series of portrait busts of Israeli leaders and international peace makers, including David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Shamir, Shimon Peres, Moshe Dayan, Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat, and President Jimmy Carter. She created the portrait of Wallenberg after meeting his half brother and being given photographs of him from which to work. The above from https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/raoul-wallenberg-bust
6. CAPVC_120106_049.JPG: Raoul Wallenberg Swedish Humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg's mission of mercy on behalf of the United States during World War II was unprecedented in the history of mankind. He was responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives during the Holocaust. A shining light in the dark and depraved world, he proved that one person with the courage to care can make a difference. Dedicated on November 2, 1995, Fifty years after his disappearance
7. CAPVC_120106_064.JPG: North Dakota Sakakawea A member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806
8. CAPVC_120106_071.JPG: Kamehameha I Statue The Basics Artist: Thomas R. Gould Materials: Bronze Year: 1969 Location: Emancipation Hall, Capitol Visitor Center This statue of King Kamehameha I was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Hawaii in 1969. King Kamehameha I was born at Kokoiki in the Kohala district of the Island of Hawai'i about 1758. He grew into a courageous warrior and was said to have overturned the huge Naha Stone in Hilo. According to native belief, such a feat indicated superhuman strength and foreshadowed the inevitable conquest of all of Hawai'i. Upon the death of his uncle, Chief Kalaniopu'u, Kamehameha received custody of the war gods and the temples, while the late chief's son, Kiwala'ō, inherited the island. However, district chiefs became dissatisfied with Kiwala'ō's methods of redistricting the lands. A struggle ensued between Kiwala'ō's forces and the various chiefs under the leadership of Kamehameha. His cousin was killed, and Kamehameha attained control of half the Island of Hawai'i. During the struggle, Kamehameha's "divine right" was exemplified by a rare explosive eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, which wiped out parts of the opposing army. In 1785 Kamehameha married Ka'ahumanu, the daughter of one of his most trusted advisors. In 1790, after attaining control of the remainder of Hawai'i Island, he successfully invaded the Islands of Maui, Lāna'i, and Moloka'i. By 1810, he had unified all the inhabited islands of Hawai'i under his rule. As king, Kamehameha placed capable followers in charge of large districts. He encouraged trade and peaceful activities, and he presided over the opening of Hawai'i to the rest of the world. On May 8, 1819, King Kamehameha I, also referred to today as Kamehameha the Great, died at Kailua in the district of Kona on his home Island of Hawai'i. His remains were hidden with such secrecy, according to ancient custom, that "only the stars know his final resting place." The Statue American sculptor Thomas R. Gould depicted Kamehameha in his regal garb, including a helmet of rare feathers attached to woven plant fibers. The gilded cloak is based on one that Kamehameha's subjects made for the king by weaving yellow feathers of native birds into a fine mesh net. The sandals, although not historically accurate, suggest the type of footwear that Kamehameha would have worn. The spear in his left hand symbolizes the ability to defend oneself and one's nation; it is also a reminder that Kamehameha ended the wars among the Hawaiian people. His right hand is extended in a gesture of aloha, the traditional spirit of friendly greeting. Gould was commissioned to create a statue of Kamehameha by the legislature of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and modeled the figure at his studio in Rome in 1879. It was cast in bronze at a Paris foundry in 1880 but was lost in a shipwreck on its way to Hawai'i. A second statue was cast from the same model and arrived safely; it was unveiled by Hawai'i's last king, Kalakaua, in 1883 in front of the Judiciary Building in Honolulu, where it still remains. The first statue was subsequently recovered and brought to Hawai'i; in 1912 it was placed at Kohala Court House in Kapa'au on the Island of Hawai'i, in Kamehameha's home district. The statue in the Capitol was made from molds taken of the Honolulu statue. It was dedicated along with a statue of Father Damien, Hawai'i's other gift to the National Statuary Hall collection, at a ceremony held on April 15, 1969 in the Capitol Rotunda. The statue was moved to National Statuary Hall in June of that year. The great weight of the bronze statue and its solid granite base (over 6 tons) make it one of the heaviest objects in the collection, so a major factor in its location is the need to support it safely. In 2008 the statue was moved to Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center. Every year on Kamehameha Day (June 11, a state holiday in Hawai'i), Emancipation Hall is the scene of a ceremony in honor of the king. The statue is draped with leis of flowers from Hawai'i and hula dancers per-form before portrayers of Kamehameha and Ka'ahu-manu. The above was from https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/kamehameha-i-statue
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Wikipedia Description: United States Capitol Visitor Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is an addition to the United States Capitol which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the US Congress. It is located below the East Front of the Capitol, between the Capitol and 1st Street East. The complex contains 580,000 square feet (54,000 m2) of space below ground on three floors. The overall project's budget was $621 million.

The CVC has space for use by the Congress, including multiple new meeting and conference rooms. On the House side, there is a large room which will most likely be used by a committee. The new Congressional Auditorium, a 450-seat theater, will be available for use by members of Congress or for either House of Congress should their respective chamber be unavailable.

The CVC officially opened on December 2, 2008. This date was selected to coincide with the 145th anniversary of placing Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol building in 1863, signifying the completion of construction of its dome.

Design:

The CVC contains three under-ground levels: a balcony level entrance, the Emancipation Hall (second) level and a third restricted level for new Congressional offices and meeting rooms. The construction of the CVC represents the largest-ever expansion of the United States Capitol and more than doubles the footprint of the US Capitol building complex.

Construction:

Construction of the CVC is supervised by the Architect of the Capitol. That post was held Alan Hantman, FAIA until his term expired on February 4, 2007; the Architect of the Capitol position is currently vacant, and Deputy Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, is currently serving as the acting Architect.

The ceremonial ground breaking for the CVC took place on June 20, 2000. Although originally planned to be completed by January 2004, the final completion date (not includ ...More...
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Capitols] [US Capitol (Everything)] [US Capitol (Non-Events)] [Display ALL US Capitol (Non-Events) photos] [US Capitol Complex]
2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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