Before leaving the Rotunda it should be added that it is possible
to ascend into the Lantern by taking either of the winding iron
staircases in the piers on the left and right of the west gallery.
The staircases in all the piers carry one up into the space between
the two shells of the dome, where it will be necessary from time to
time for workmen to go in order to paint the iron framing and thus
preserve it from rust and decay, but only these two are open to the
public. On the way up one has a chance to observe the interesting
construction of the dome; and in the Lantern, which is left
unfinished except in the portions seen from below, one may look over
the parapet and down into the Rotunda.
By taking the staircase to the right, moreover--to the right as one
originally enters the gallery from the Entrance Hall, that is--one
reaches a door through which one may pass out to a little gallery
encircling the Rotunda in the open air and affording a beautiful view
of Washington and the surrounding country.
Or, if one chooses to defer this little expedition, it is possible to
make the trip without retracing one’s steps by taking the elevator
on the first story of the Entrance Hall and getting out on the attic
floor, from which one may enter either of the two stairways just
described.