Statuary Hall ?
Courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol of such statuary as each state shall elect to be deserving of in this lasting commemoration ?”
His colleagues agreed and the proposal to create a National Statuary Hall became law on July 2 , 1864 .
The legislation called for the states “ to provide and furnish statues , in marble or in bronze , not exceeding two in number for each state , of deceased persons who have been citizens thereof , and illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services such as each state may deem to be worthy of this national commemoration ,” according to the Architect of the Capitol website .
The idea was so popular that it was not long before the National Statuary Hall became overcrowded with pieces . By 1933 there were 65 statues on display , in some places standing three deep , and concerns were raised about the ability of the structure to support the weight of any additional statues .
A House resolution called for the relocation of statues to other areas of the Capitol and limited each state to only one statue in Statuary Hall . Future rearrangements of the statues would be made over the years to accommodate the growing number of states represented , with statues distributed to various areas of the Capitol , including the connecting corridors of the House and Senate wings and the Capitol Visitor Center . By 1971 all 50 states had contributed at least one statue and by 1990 all but five states had sent two statues to be placed in the Capitol .
According to the Architect of the Capitol website , each statue is a gift of a state and the selection process usually begins in the state legislature . When the donated statue arrives in Washington D . C . it is placed in a location specified by the Joint Committee on the Library .
Care and preservation of the statuary is the responsibility of the Architect of the Capitol . The agency ’ s Curator Division is also involved in the evaluation of new statues as well as when a state decides to replace an existing piece in the collection .
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