Almanac: Statuary Hall

And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: July 2nd, 1864, 153 years ago today … the day Congress approved the creation of a National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

Located in the original chamber of the House of Representatives, Statuary Hall welcomed two statues from each state -- a kind of patriotic Noah's Ark, if you will.

Today it's one of the Capitol's most popular attractions, allowing tourists close-up looks at an eclectic mix of notables.

Everyone from Green Mountain Boy Ethan Allen of Vermont, to the "Great Compromiser," Henry Clay of Kentucky.

President James Garfield of Ohio, killed by an assassin's bullet ... and would-be President William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska.

Pioneers Brigham Young of Utah; Sam Houston of Texas; and missionary Father Junipero Serra of California.

There are inventors, too, including Thomas Edison of Ohio and Robert Fulton of Pennsylvania, cradling a steamship in his hand that might just be a stand-in for the ship of state.

Although overcrowding has led to some of the 100 statues being moved to other parts of the Capitol, the Statuary Hall remains what its founding legislation foresaw: a home for Americans "illustrious for their historic renown."

       
For more info:

• National Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. (Architect of the Capitol)
  
• Statuary Hall (house.gov)
  
• Tour Statuary Hall