United States Senate chamber

[1] In addition to expanding the space available for the Senate's use, the chamber's designers were concerned that the room have acoustical and line-of-sight qualities comparable to those of a theater.

Shortly after beginning to utilize the chamber, however, senators noted the poor acoustic qualities, the sounds created by rain as it hit the glass-paneled ceiling, and uncomfortable drafts of air throughout the room.

[3] The general design of the chamber, a rectangular, two-story room in the center of the Capitol's north wing, includes 100 individual desks on a tiered platform.

In 1863, the chamber was used for a presentation of a narrative poem ("The Sleeping Sentinel") about a Union Army soldier, William Scott, who had fallen asleep at his post and was sentenced to be shot.

][3] In 1923, practicing physician and former commissioner of the New York City Board of Health Royal Copeland began his first term in the Senate.

He quickly noted the poor quality of the air in the chamber, arguing that the premature deaths of thirty-four serving senators over the previous twelve years were caused by the overly hot and poorly humidified air, which he blamed for the spread of common illnesses during the winter and the general discomfort of the chamber during the summer.

On May 16, however, Copeland requested the indefinite postponement of his proposal in light of a new ventilation system that received the endorsement of experts in public health.

During the same year, the National Geographic Society requested permission to take the first official photograph of the Senate while in session for their illustrated volume We, the People.