The Old Supreme Court Chamber

Before talking about the Old Supreme Court Chamber, I would like to thank the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies for creating and sponsoring the Passion Project Program. I love sharing the unique history of the Capitol Building, and it is only possible because of the Gould Center’s support. In this post, I will discuss the Old Supreme Court Chamber by highlighting its history of construction, unique architectural features, uses over time, and some important Supreme Court decisions that occurred in this room.

Just like some of the other spaces I have covered already, Benjamin Henry Latrobe proposed designs in 1806 to completely renovate the north area of the Capitol where the Senate resided at the time. Congress approved and funded the renovation, and Latrobe started the work. His designs for the renovation included a room he intended the Supreme Court to use. He planned the room to have a fireproof vaulted ceiling. His plans required very intricate architectural planning because he wanted to create a room with vaulted ceilings that didn’t add any additional strain on the rest of the Capitol Building. Sadly, Latrobe’s primary aide, John Lenthall, died during construction when he removed a support for the vaulted ceiling too early, and it collapsed on him. The fireproof materials came in handy during the War of 1812 as the room survived the burning of the Capitol. Latrobe still renovated the room in 1815 following the war, and Charles Bulfinch finished the construction once Latrobe resigned in 1817. The room went through a few different changes in use over the years, which I will explain later on, but the Architect of the Capitol completely restored the room and completed the work in 1975.

The most prominent architectural feature in the Old Supreme Court Chamber is the Justice relief by Carlo Franzoni. Franzoni completed the relief in 1817, and the relief portrays three figures. In the center, there is lady justice holding the scales of justice in her left hand and a sword in her right hand. To the right of lady justice, there is an eagle protecting a set of books, which symbolize the law. To the left of lady justice, there is a boy with wings holding the US Constitution. Interestingly, Franzoni’s portrayal of lady justice does not have her blindfolded, which is how most works of art depict lady justice. Franzoni’s work provides the Old Supreme Court Chamber with some classical grounding and a beautiful work of art that fits perfectly with the use of the space. The Old Supreme Court Chamber also holds busts of the first four Supreme Court Chief Justices, John Marshall, John Rutledge, John Jay, and Oliver Ellsworth, and these four busts line the back of the room.

The Old Supreme Court Chamber has served a few purposes over its time. Before Latrobe completely removed the northern side of the Capitol Building, the area that became the Old Supreme Court Chamber housed the Senate. The Supreme Court used the space from 1810 to 1860 after Latrobe’s renovation, and the Supreme Court decided many consequential cases in this time that I will discuss below. After the Supreme Court left the Old Supreme Court Chamber and moved into the Old Senate Chamber, the space became a law library. Once the Supreme Court moved into its current building in 1935, the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy used part of the space, and the rest was storage. After the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy left the space, it was vacant from 1960 until the room’s restoration into a replica of the Old Supreme Court Chamber in 1975.

The Supreme Court decided many important cases in the Old Supreme Court Chamber. Under Chief Justice John Marshall, some of the most important cases include Dartmouth College v. Woodward, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden, and the most infamous decision under Chief Justice Roger Taney was Dred Scott v. Sanford. In Dartmouth College v. Woodward, the Court ruled that the Constitution’s contract clause forbids states from violating any contracts with both private and public corporations. In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States’ incorporation. The Court also ruled that Maryland or any state could not tax instruments of the federal government. In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Court ruled that the federal government was the only one who could regulate steamship operators conducting interstate commerce. Under Chief Justice Roger Taney, the Court issued its infamous decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford. The majority of the Court ruled that a black person whose ancestors were slaves could never be an American citizen, and the majority dismissed the case on standing. The majority also ruled that the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state and banned slavery in terrorities above the 36 40 line, was unconstitutional and that slaves were property under the fifth amendment. The decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford divided the north and south further and helped contribute to the lead-up to the Civil War.