- From the window of Americans for the Arts,
I get the sense of the history of this place.
Abraham Lincoln used to come
right down Vermont Avenue to the White House.
And Lincoln, in the middle of the Civil War,
called for the finishing of the dome of the Capitol
and expending all that money on craftsmanship
to create a symbol that the Union would continue.
And, you look up.
You'll see some of the most beautiful crafted design work
on the domed ceiling of the Capitol building.
What's interesting is
how many times the Presidents and the Presidential wives
have entered into the craft world.
Eleanor Roosevelt had a vision during the Great Depression
for Val-Kill...
was set up on the family estate in Hyde Park.
It was designed to create jobs in craft,
making furniture and cloth and forging
in the colonial revival tradition.