DECORATIVE ARTS AND HISTORIC FURNISHINGS
OF THE CAPITOL

The grand staircase in the Capitol Rotunda leads to the
Legislative chambers, the House on the right and the
Senate to the left. The spectacular dome rises 272 feet
from the ground and weighs 52 million pounds. The
Rotunda is lit by almost 4,000 lights.

      "Dragonfly"             "Forging a Chain"                 "Duck"           

"RISING SUN" CHAIR

 Considered the most important chair in United States history, the Rising Sun Chair was designed in 1779 by John Folwell, a Representative from Bucks County. The original is at Independence Hall. A replica preserved at the Capitol belongs to the House. Folwell, an expert woodworker, felt that the 16th century Speaker's Chair was too simple. So, choosing an elegant Chippendale style design, he hand-crafted the "Rising Sun Chair." Benjamin Franklin, after he signed the Constitution, exclaimed as he pointed to the carved frieze at the top of the chair, "I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun." George Washington used the original chair as presiding officer of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The original was used on the Speaker's rostrum in Harrisburg until it was returned to Independence Hall just prior to the Civil War.

CLOCKS

House sessions convene at very specific times throughout the legislative calendar. For example the Rules state that each Monday session will convene at 1:00 p.m. Timeliness is essential to all Representatives whose schedules are divided among the many responsibilities inherent to their office. The Capitol has approximately 225 handsome mahogany and oak clocks which accurately exhibit the time of day. Hand-wound once a week on Fridays, each clock's face features the seal of Pennsylvania and a Keystone-shaped glass emblem. The larger clocks are crowned with pediments designed after the front entrances to the Capitol.

MEMBERS' DESKS

The desks in the House of Representatives are the original mahogany desks installed in the House upon construction of the Capitol in 1906. Each desk, made in Pennsylvania, is now an heirloom, complete with a private footlocker for stowing galoshes. Today each desk is equipped with two electric voting buttons, the red button for a "nay" vote and the green button for an "aye" vote. The white button summons a Page. Pages run errands for the Representatives.

MEDALLIONS

Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911) created the medallions in the Capitol Rotunda which were recently repaired and restored by the Capitol Preservation Committee. They represent the four forces of civilization. Art stands in conquest over a beast. Abbey chose to symbolize art by a work of architecture - a model of the Parthenon is held in the figure's left hand. The quotation accompanying Art is a passage from the philosopher, Plotinus, who said, "Art deals with things forever incapable of definition, and that belong to love, beauty, joy and worship, the shapes, powers, and glory of which are forever building, unbuilding and rebuilding in each man's soul and in the soul of the whole world." The Law quotation is Alexander Hamilton's. He said: "Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it is obtained, or until liberty will be lost in the pursuit."

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