The Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol. Click on picture for larger image

Yes, the Supreme Court met in the Capitol from 1801 until 1935. The Old Supreme Court Chamber, as it is known, is indeed beautifully preserved in its original courtroom state on the first floor of the Capitol, and it is included on tours of the Capitol Building. The specific chamber seen today was used by the Supreme Court from 1810 to 1860. As tourists enter the chamber, they pass the small robing room used by the Justices to don their black judicial gowns. The robe of Chief Justice Roger Taney, who served from 1835-1864, is on display there.

The chamber has a very strong historical feel and dramatic presence -- it has been used for filming scenes in several movies. Part of the room's drama comes from the vaulted triple-arch ceilings and atmospheric gas lights. The restoration of the chamber was to the decade between 1850-1860, and was completed in time for the Bicentennial in 1976. Seven of the nine mahogany desks and five of the chairs (custom-made to suit each Justice) are the originals. The wall clock, installed by Chief Justice Taney, runs five minutes fast today just as it did in his day to ensure the sessions of the Court would start on time.

In line with the design of our government as one built on separation of powers, the Supreme Court was intended to be in its own building. However, the move of the federal government to Washington, D.C. in 1800 provided no funds for the construction of a separate judicial building. Instead, a first floor committee room in the north wing of the Capitol (the Senate side of the building) was set aside as temporary space for the Court. Continued construction on the Capitol forced the Court to move to the second floor library in 1808. The room was so cold and cramped the Court moved to a nearby tavern for the 1809 term! The Court returned to the Capitol in 1810, moving into the very space now open to tourists, especially designed for them by the Architect Benjamin Latrobe. But the Supreme Court's wanderings were not over. Damage inflicted on the Capitol by British troops during the War of 1812 forced the Court to move to a nearby four-story brick townhouse from 1815-1816. When the Capitol was extended in 1859, new and larger space was set aside for the Supreme Court, and they moved into it in 1860, remaining there until 1935.

When former President William Taft became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921, he began a campaign to convince Congress to appropriate money for a separate Supreme Court building. In 1929, Congress finally did so, and construction began in 1930. The Court moved into its permanent home across the street from the Capitol in 1935, and separation of powers finally became physical reality.