Right at Home Under the Dome

"I hadn't been in the Capitol for many years, and I didn't even realize that you could get in anymore," said Ajello, who lives in Washington.

"I thought it was fantastic," she said after emerging more than two hours later. "It's one of the most important buildings in the world, and one of the most majestic. This is a perfect place to start the tour. It was expensive [to build] but probably worth it."

Her only criticism: the long, sloping entrance way mars the overall beauty of the Capitol building.

Not everyone in the first group to troop through the doors was caught up in the hubbub of opening day.

"My parents took me here when I was a kid, and I wanted to take the boys," said John Pacini, who was visiting from Albany, N.Y., with his wife, Cathy, and sons Nicholas, 8, and Anthony, 7. "This is new? I didn't know that. What was there before? You never know when you visit the Capitol."

After almost three hours under the dome, the Pacini family emerged impressed.

"The movie was great; the place was very classy; the exhibit hall was very impressive," John Pacini said.

Beginning today, the center will implement a system intended to reduce the lines and waiting for people who want to tour the Capitol. Advance reservations can be made at http://visitthecapitol.govor by contacting the office of a member of Congress.

No reservation is need to visit the center and its exhibits. The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Inauguration Day.