Old Senate Chamber

The gallery on the east is "supported by eight Ionic columns of variegated marble quarried along the Potomac River", inspired by the Erechtheum of the Acropolis of Athens.

In addition, there are two fireplace mantels on the east wall behind the screen, which are among the original pieces of the chamber that remain today.

Two other mantels on the lobby's north and south ends are replicas, as the originals were replaced with stoves when the chamber was converted for the use of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The desks and chairs that are in the chamber today are replicas reproduced from a circa 1819 design by the New York City cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine.

The area has red-upholstered sofas and was originally "reserved for privileged visitors who gained admittance to the Chamber through the special invitation of a senator.

A large brass chandelier made by Philadelphia's Cornelius and Company also provided light; a reproduction now hangs above the vice president's desk.

Brooks attacked Sumner as a matter of honor, beating him with a cane and injuring him so badly that he was absent from the Senate for nearly three years as he recovered.

In a famous exchange in 1858, Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina gave a speech advancing the Mudsill theory, arguing that slavery was justified because civilization required a permanent underclass to serve as a foundation.

While I hold a seat I have but to look at the beautiful capitals adorning the pilasters that support this roof, to be reminded of my father's talent and to see his handiwork.

[2]Until 1976, the room was used for meetings,[1] irregular congressional committee hearings, and as temporary quarters while the modern Senate chamber was being repaired in 1940, 1949, and 1950.

At present, much of the room is furnished with reproductions with the exceptions of the gilded eagle ornament located above the chair of the president of the Senate (the vice president of the United States), which is original, and above the eagle ornament on a third-story gallery resides an original portrait of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale.

[13] In September 2023, in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Old Chamber.