Top of page

Capitol Dome Tholos – Pic of the Week

Share this post:

The following is a guest post by David Mao, Law Librarian of Congress.  He has previously guest posted New Year’s Greetings, Justifying Speed, Food for Thought,  Another Trip Down Memory Lane2012 Burton Awards – Pic of the WeekShreddy: From the Office of the Law Librarian – Pic of the WeekFrom the Desk of the Law Librarian, The Law Librarian in London, and Rebellious Children and Witches.

Capitol Dome at night, with tholos lit
The Capitol Dome at night, with tholos lit. Photograph courtesy of Prints and Photographs Division.

Have you ever seen the Capitol Dome at night? You may have noticed lights at the top of the dome, right under the base of the Statue of Freedom.

According to two of my Library of Congress colleagues, “The Capitol Dome is topped by twelve columns encircling a lantern. The lantern is lit when one or both houses of Congress meet in night session. Although there is not a legal requirement for the night lighting or a record of when the lighting began, it is believed that the practice started in about 1864, when members lived in boarding-houses and hotels near the Capitol.”

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Capitol Dome and learned that four large bulbs light the Tholos (two for the House and two for the Senate).

And remember whenever the lights are on in the Tholos, we’re here for Congress.

Add a Comment

This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. The Library of Congress does not control the content posted. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's privilege to post content on the Library site. Read our Comment and Posting Policy.


Required fields are indicated with an * asterisk.