"The Republic endures and this is the symbol of its faith." These words, spoken by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in laying the corner stone for the Supreme Court Building on October 13, 1932, express the importance of the Supreme Court in the American system.
Suprisingly, despite its role as a coequal branch of of government, the Supreme Court was not provided with a building of its own until 1935, the 146th year of its existance.
When the Federal Government moved in 1800 tothe permanent Capital, Washington, the District of Columbia, the court moved there as well. Since no provision had been made by the Founding Fathers for a Supreme Court Building, Congree lent space in the new Capitol Building. The court was to change its meeting place a half dozen times within the Capitol. Additionally, the Court met for a short period of time in a private house after the British set fire to the Capitol during the war of 1812.
An interesting side note, when it was decided to build the current building, Congress allocated ten million dollars for that purpose. When the building was dedicated in 1935, 900,000 dollars of unspent money was returned to the United States treasury.
