The U.S. Capitol, Then and Now

Donna and I went to Washington, D.C. this weekend and visited, among other things, the U.S. Capitol, whose iconic dome is undergoing a two-year restoration.  It was the first time I had visited the Capitol as a tourist, although I had been there many times as a reporter back in the 1980s.

We had a glorious weekend.  The weather was ridiculously perfect—70 degrees with cloudless skies at the end of October.  We walked for miles, and took advantage of the incredible complex of Smithsonian galleries and museums on the Mall.  

We saw Degas’ The Little Dancer sculpture, Titian’s Danae and other magnificent artwork.  We had lunch outside.  In the evening we enjoyed a tapas dinner at Jaleo, a fantastic restaurant in D.C.’s Penn Quarter, a trendy, upscale neighborhood that when I worked (and lived) on Capitol Hill was blighted, unsafe and decayed after the 1968 riots.  On Sunday we watched the Marine Corps Marathon and saw two of our friends run by who were competing in that grueling race.

 

Early in my career I was a reporter for a group of publications on the telecommunications industry during the breakup of AT&T, which dominated long-distance phone service and had a monopoly on local phone service, through the Bell System, and phone equipment, through Western Electric.  “Ma Bell,” as it was called, also owned the renowned research organization Bell Labs; the $6 billion Yellow Pages; and other valuable assets. 

 

I was fortunate enough to cover the divestiture, as it was called, from all three branches of government—judicial, executive and legislative.  I covered cases at the Supreme Court that affected the breakup and spent hundreds of hours at the Federal Communications Commission reporting on regulatory matters.

The legislative side was my favorite.  The bill that was being hammered out would determine winners and losers in a rapidly changing multi-billion-dollar industry.  Who would get the various pieces as Ma Bell was divided up?  Which markets would continue to be regulated utilities, and which would be opened to competition—and how soon?  

The hearings that I covered—on topics ranging from how many regional Bell holding companies there would be, to who would get the lucrative yellow pages and pay phones business, to arcane matters about where local phone company service ended and long-distance carrier service began—usually were held in the congressional office buildings on either side of the Capitol or in the Capitol itself, depending on which committee was holding the hearing.  I would take the Metro,new in those days,to Union Station and walk to the Capitol.  When I would see the enormous white dome, I'd get chills at the thought of being right at the center of our government.

 

Security was nothing like it is today.  I would show a security guard my press pass, which I wore on a chain around my neck, and had more or less free rein inside the Capitol.  I could wander the halls and stick my head in Representatives’ offices, or ride the underground trams that shuttle senators, representatives and their aides between congressional offices and the Capitol. 

Today, you can walk on the campus of the Capitol but not too close to the building.  There are guards all around it.  The only way for the general public to gain entry, at least lawfully, is by going online to schedule an appointment to join a guided tour.  Upon arrival at your appointed time, you enter an underground visitor’s center that is underneath the Capitol and pass through metal detectors.  Then your tour begins.

I don’t mean to criticize today’s security.  In the post-9/11 world, this is how things have to be.  It’s sad to realize that terrorists have succeeded in restricting our access to public buildings, our privacy and our movements at, for instance, airports, but there it is.

The U.S. Capital tour is terrific.  There’s a very good 15-minute video that traces the history of the building, then a tour that lasts nearly an hour that takes you to three rooms: The crypt, the Rotunda, and Statuary Hall.  Our guide, Mr. Allen, was informative and entertaining, providing anecdotes that brought to life some of the lore of the home to Congress.

We are lucky to live so close to Washington, a place I love, and even though security these days is tighter than back when I was a cub reporter, it still knocks me out to take it in. 

Copyright © 2014 by Dave Douglass