United States Supreme Court Building

Supreme Court Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
front of the Supreme Court Building at dusk, after renovation
Location	One First Street Northeast Washington, D.C.
Built	1935
NRHP reference No.	87001294

The Supreme Court building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States. It is situated in Washington, D.C. at 1 First Street NE, on the block immediately east of the United States Capitol. The building is under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol.

History

Supreme Court building (circa 1935)

Closeup of the building's entrance (west) façade

Prior to the establishment of the Federal City, the United States government resided briefly in New York City, New York. As such, the Supreme Court met there during this time in the Merchants Exchange Building. When the capital moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Court moved with it and began meeting in Independence Hall, and later in City Hall).

After the federal government was established in Washington, the court was housed in a small basement room in the United States Capitol. It remained in the Capitol until 1935, with the exception of a period from 1812 to 1819, during which the Court was absent from Washington because of the British invasion and destruction of the Capitol in the War of 1812.

In 1810, the Supreme Court first occupied the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol.As the Senate expanded, it progressively outgrew its quarters. In 1860, the Supreme Court moved to the Old Senate Chamber (as it is now known) where it remained until its move to the current Supreme Court building. In 1929, Chief Justice William Howard Taft argued successfully for the Court to have its own headquarters to distance itself from Congress as an independent branch of government.

Temple of justice

"Equal Justice Under Law" over the western façade.

The Supreme Court courtroom interior.

The Supreme Court building is located at 1 First Street NE (across the street from the Capitol) and was designed by architect Cass Gilbert. It rises four stories (92 feet) above ground. The cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1932 and construction completed in 1935, having cost $9.74 million, $94,000 under budget. "The building was designed on a scale in keeping with the importance and dignity of the Court and the Judiciary as a coequal, independent branch of the United States Government, and as a symbol of 'the national ideal of justice in the highest sphere of activity."

The public façade of the Supreme Court building is made of marble quarried from Vermont, and that of the non-public-facing courtyards, Georgian marble. Most of the interior spaces are lined with Alabama marble, except for the Courtroom itself, which is lined with Spanish Ivory Vein marble. For the Courtroom's 24 columns, "Gilbert felt that only the ivory buff and golden marble from the Montarrenti quarries near Siena, Italy" would suffice. To this end, in May 1933, he petitioned the Italian premier, Benito Mussolini, "to ask his assistance in guaranteeing that the Siena quarries sent nothing inferior to the official sample marble".

Not all the justices were thrilled by the new arrangements, the courtroom in particular. Harlan Fiske Stone complained it was "almost bombastically pretentious...Wholly inappropriate for a quiet group of old boys such as the Supreme Court." Another justice observed that he felt the court would be "nine black beetles in the Temple of Karnak," while still another complained that such pomp and ceremony suggested the Justices ought to enter the courtroom riding on elephants. The New Yorker columnist Howard Brubaker noted at the time of its opening that it had "fine big windows to throw the New Deal out of."

The west façade of the building (essentially, the "front" of the court, being the side which faces the Capitol) bears the motto "Equal Justice Under Law," while the east facade bears the motto "Justice, the Guardian of Liberty."

The building's facilities include:

• In the basement: maintenance facilities, garage, on-site mailroom.
• On the first (or ground) floor: Public information office, the clerk's office, the publications unit, exhibit halls, cafeteria, gift shop and administrative offices.
• On the second floor: the Great Hall, the courtroom, the conference room, and all of the justices' chambers except Justice Ginsburg (she chose a roomier office on the third floor).
• On the third floor: The office of Justice Ginsburg, the office of the reporter of decisions, the legal office, and the offices of the law clerks. Also, the justices' dining and reading rooms are on this floor.
• On the fourth floor: The court library
• On the fifth floor: The Supreme Court gym, including a basketball court nicknamed the "Highest Court in the Land"

In addition, the Supreme Court building maintains its own police force, the Supreme Court Police. Separate from the Capitol Police, the force was created in 1935 to look after the building and its personnel.

Sculptural program

"Contemplation of Justice"

"Authority of Law"

Cass Gilbert's design for the building and its environs included an ambitious beaux-arts styled sculptural program that included a large number and variety of both real and allegorical figures.

• Supreme Court Flagpole Bases, and bronze doors in the east and west facades by John Donnelly.
• East pediment - Justice, the Guardian of Liberty by Hermon Atkins MacNeil
• West pediment - Equal Justice Under the Law by Robert Ingersoll Aitken. This work includes a portrait of Cass Gilbert in the far left of the pediment.
• Seated figures - The Authority of Law (south side) and The Contemplation of Justice (north side) by James Earle Fraser
• Courtroom friezes - The South Wall Frieze includes figures of lawgivers from the time before Jesus and includes Menes, Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Lycurgus, Solon, Draco, Confucius, and Augustus. The North Wall Frieze shows lawgivers from the time after Jesus and includes representations of Justinian, Muhammad, Charlemagne, John of England, Louis IX of France, Hugo Grotius, Sir William Blackstone, John Marshall, and Napoleon. The figure of Muhammad has caused controversy.

Miscellaneous

On November 28, 2005, a basketball-sized chunk of marble weighing approximately 172 pounds fell four stories from the façade onto the steps of the Court; it had previously been part of the parapet above the word "under" in the "Equal justice under law" engraved on the court's façade immediately above the figure of a Roman centurion carrying fasces. The falling piece did not appear to be related to restoration work that was underway in the building at the time.

The courtroom frieze depicts the history of law, including the Ten Commandments. The plaque held by Moses, displays the numbers 1-10. Although Moses is a biblical character, the tablets actually refer to the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.^[1]

In 1997, the Council on American-Islamic Relations requested that the Supreme Court remove the image of Muhammad from the marble frieze of the façade. While appreciating the fact that Muhammad was included in the court's pantheon of 18 prominent lawgivers of history, CAIR noted that Islam discourages depictions of Muhammad in any artistic representation. CAIR also objected that the prophet was shown with a sword, reinforcing long-held stereotypes of Muslims as intolerant conquerors. Chief Justice William Rehnquist rejected the request to sandblast Muhammad, saying the artwork "was intended only to recognize him, among many other lawgivers, as an important figure in the history of law; it is not intended as a form of idol worship." The court later added a footnote to tourist materials describing the frieze, calling it a "a well-intentioned attempt by the sculptor to honor Muhammad."

On Sunday, January 13, 2002, a wild fox managed to enter the building. Although spotted by a police officer and observed on video cameras, it eluded capture for more than a day. The marble floors of the building made it difficult to track.

External links

• Supreme Court of The United States
• Virtual tour
• Outdoor sculpture at the Supreme Court building
• Supreme Court building (PDF)
• "Architectural Information Sheets". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
• A Permanent Home (Supreme Court Historical Society)
• Fox Slips Into Supreme Court