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Old Supreme Court Chamber
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The Old Supreme Court Chamber is the first room constructed for the use of the nation's highest judiciary body. Built by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, it was a significant architectural achievement, for the size and structure of its vaulted, semicircular ceiling were virtually unprecedented in the United States. In addition to housing the Supreme Court, this space later served as a committee room, a law library, a meeting room, and a storage room. Today, it has been restored to its mid-19th century appearance. Samuel Morse sent his first telegram from this room on May 24, 1844.
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Supreme Court Building
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Finished and occupied in 1935, the Supreme Court's great marble temple is a fitting home for the nation's third branch of government. Chief Justice William Howard Taft was behind the effort to provide the Court with its own building, moving out of the Capitol where it had been meeting since 1801. The Court did not move far, however. Its new location was just across the street and was selected to remain near Union Station and thus convenient for out-of-town lawyers.
The architect of the Supreme Court, Cass Gilbert of New York City, drew upon the classical Roman temple form as the basis for the Court's new building. Reached by a great flight of broad steps, the portico of tall Corinthian columns gives the building a monumental entrance. Lower wings flank the central temple and help relate it to the lower-scaled buildings of the nearby Capitol Hill neighborhood.
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Thurgood Marshall Judiciary Building
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The Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building houses agencies that support the work of the United States Federal Courts, including the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center and the United States Sentencing Commission. It was completed in 1992 and two years later named for Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), the first African-American to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
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