Marble Statue of Freedom Magnet

The bronze Statue of Freedom by Thomas Crawford is the crowning feature of the dome of the United States Capitol. The statue is a classical female Figure of Freedom wearing flowing draperies. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. The bronze statue stands 19 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 15,000 pounds. Her crest rises 288 feet above the east front plaza.

The marble used for this magnet was taken from the wing occupied by the House of Representatives. Every member of the House-over 9,000— has trod the east front steps, originally installed between 1863 and 1865, leaving footprints of history. The steps were removed in 1995; and the U.S. Capitol Historical Society has been permitted to use a portion of the removed marble, which is crushed to a fine powder and combined with resin, to create this memento.