The nickname of the building is the Marble Palace, because white marble represents the primary material used in the building. According to the Supreme Court’s Web site, $3 million worth of marble was used in its construction. Famous attorney and scholar John Paul Frank published a book about the U.S. Supreme Court in 1958 entitled Marble Palace: The Supreme Court in American Life.
The first U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice was John Jay, who served on the bench from 1789 to 1795 (Library of Congress).