Uncut stories from the US Capitol, pre-fence.
If you haven’t already listened to our special episode, Stories of an Unfenced Capitol, you can find that here, or on any podcast streaming services.
Also enjoy the full, uncut stories that were shared with us below!
“For over 200 hundred years, this is where all Americans - Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives - have been welcome: to see their government at work, to talk to their representatives, to enjoy the beautiful Capitol grounds.”
— Bill Press
“I think that walls really symbolise division and this wall might provide an illusion of safety but there are probably better ways to provide safety without sacrificing unity.”
— Cora Burkman
“Fencing in the Capitol would send the wrong kind of signal to our city, nation, and to the world… there’s got to be a smarter, measured way to ensure the safety of the Capitol complex.”
— David Stute
“It was just such a treat to be in that beautiful space, in such a relaxed, happy way. I have very fond memories of that.”
— Stephanie Deutsch
“The fencing still remains around the building, blocking the streets where we drive and walk, cutting us off from the Capitol and making it feel like somehow, the insurrections won.”
— Elaine Qualter
“If I want to spend time with friends or family, we’d always just end up walking to the Capitol because it’s just such a nice route and a beautiful view… Now that it’s cut off, people can’t do that, and they have to change the way they had been doing things for months, and for all their life on Capitol Hill. And it is very limiting…”
— Elena Stanciu
“I don’t have a diehard feeling about it, but I do think we’ve lost a lot, just in the spirit of freedom, just the freedom to walk near a building of great symbolic importance. There’s grief there, for me.”
— Gil Gallagher
“When I think of a permanent fence around the US Capitol grounds, it just feels like the experience of the US Capitol could never be the same without the addition of its grounds.”
— Jill Ryerson
“Before the pandemic, I used to bike by the Capitol every day on the way to school.”
— Jonas Howard
“I will always remember the Capitol steps as the place where I met one of the great civil rights leaders, and it saddens me that future generations will not have that opportunity if the fence goes up.”
— Katrina Tracy
“I think that to someone who doesn’t live here, the idea of a fence around the Capitol building is probably fairly abstract, but someone who lives here, someone who’s familiar with DC, and has looked at the maps and has been there to see where it stretches - it’s massive, and it cuts off all access to green space and to gardens.”
— Lori Grisham
“I was thinking of all the wheeled devices that we’ve taken to the Capitol, from a one-wheeled toy called a go wheely to two-wheeled bikes, to three-wheeled big wheels, three-wheeled scooters, three-wheeled trailer bikes, four-wheeled skateboards, six-wheeled roller blades, and on.”
— Michael Mavretic
“It was a place where people were telling stories about America, and that’s kind of what I saw as the point of much of what I was seeing. All of the things that I was seeing - the statuary and the art and so on - are all there for people to talk about being American and for people to tell the story of America.”
— Mark Harrison
“[My girlfriend and I] were just having a good time and I remember sitting on a bench with her and thinking, this is really nice. It was just a really great time. And it was one of the many great times.”
— Matthew Premysler
“My family is truly heartbroken by the idea that we can no longer have access to the Capitol grounds. It was important before the pandemic, but it became especially important afterward as a place for us to go and play and be outside and run around… It was a saving grace.”
— Meredith Ferris
“Please let us walk our dogs, and our babies, and ourselves, and struggle to ride our bikes up that hill, and sit under a tree for a few shady minutes.”
— Megan Rosenfeld
“As a young child, I remember attending many evening concerts on the West lawn. My family and I would bring a picnic mat and dinner and enjoy the grandeur of the building while listening to the music.”
— Mitali Mirchandani
“I’m sure there many, many stories out there from others. And together, they make a place sacred. And I hope our Capitol can continue to be a part of our lives and our stories.”
— Rosemary Freeman
“As Americans, we pride ourselves in a fairly transparent government… the closing of the Capitol grounds is the first step, but how do we know where this will stop?”