Who Are the People?

What would you do with an empty room in the U.S. Capitol?

In the mid-1800s, Rep. Justin S. Morrill of Vermont saw cobwebs and envisioned beauty. He suggested that states donate statues to create a “useful and grand” display of notable Americans. Today this National Statuary Hall Collection is part of the statuary that graces public spaces throughout the U.S. Capitol and the Capitol Visitor Center.

Now you can fill your room with some of these statues. Download this augmented reality app to explore the statues. Using your front-facing camera, virtually place a statue. As you interact with it, you’ll unlock images and information about the person depicted and the artist who sculpted the work. Listen to the Curator for the Architect of the Capitol to learn about each statue’s artistic significance. Complete all of the steps for a special reward!

Many of the statues in this app are part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which now consists of 100 statues. After Congress passed legislation in 2000 authorizing states to replace their original contributions, many states sent new statues honoring a diverse group of Americans to the Capitol.

Statues included in this experience:

• Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford
• Sarah Winnemucca by Benjamin Victor, given by Nevada in 2005
• John “Jack” Swigert, Jr. by George and Mark Lundeen, given by Colorado in 1997
• Kamehameha I by Thomas Ridgeway Gould, given by Hawaii in 1969

History

When the House of Representatives moved into its new chamber in 1857, its former space became little more than a walkway between the Rotunda and the newly built House wing. Vendors, many with food carts and live animals, set up shop in the dusty room. As early as 1853, Members of Congress suggested using the area to display paintings. However, the space seemed a better fit for busts and statuary.

Rep. Morrill suggested that each state could create portrait statues to donate to the Capitol’s collection. The process would be “simple and inexpensive” for Congress with “useful and grand” results in the Capitol. His proposal became law July 2, 1864. It authorized each state to provide up to two statues. The bronze or marble pieces would depict deceased citizens of historic, civic or military fame. The law specified that statues would be placed in the Old Hall of the House of Representatives to form “a national statuary hall.”

The first state statue arrived in 1870. In keeping with the law, each new statue was placed in National Statuary Hall. By 1933 65 statues crowded around the room, sometimes standing three deep. The floor of the chamber couldn’t support the weight of any more statues. Since then, Congress authorized several rearrangements of the statues. In 2008, Congress placed 24 of the most recently donated statues in the Capitol Visitor Center, the newest section of the U.S. Capitol. At least one statue from every state remains on display in the historic Capitol.

The information in this app is current as of the publication date.