The Supreme Court Room - Old Senate Chamber / Library of Congress

Interior view of Supreme Court Room in the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Notes:
Wittemann Collection.
No. 3
Albertype photogravure by the Albertype Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.

In 1800 the Federal Government moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the permanent Capital, Washington, D.C. As a Supreme Court Building had not been constructed, the Court met in the Capitol Building. From 1819 to 1860 the Court met in a chamber now restored as the "Old Supreme Court Chamber." Then, from 1860 until 1935, the Court sat in what is now known as the "Old Senate Chamber."

In 1929 Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who had been President of the United States from 1909 to 1913, persuaded Congress to authorize the construction of a permanent home for the Court. Architect Cass Gilbert was charged by Chief Justice Taft to design "a building of dignity and importance suitable for its use as the permanent home of the Supreme Court of the United States." The Supreme Court building’s construction began in 1932 and was completed in 1935.