In front of the federal courthouse that bears his name, Sen. Robert C. Byrd began his final trip to the place where he got his start in politics, the state Capitol. Byrd died Monday at the age of 92. A public memorial service is scheduled for Friday morning.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd's memorial procession began at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in downtown Charleston.

The hearse carrying the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., turns onto Kanawha Boulevard in front of Haddad Riverfront Park, heading east toward the state Capitol.

Those following the hearse carrying Byrd's body included U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (second from left), state Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin (third from left), former Gov. Gaston Caperton (fourth from left), House of Delegates Speaker Rick Thompson (sixth from left), and first lady Gayle Manchin and Gov. Joe Manchin (right).

A riderless horse with backward boots in the stirrups followed the hearse.

The traditional riderless horse, with boots placed backward in the stirrups, follows the hearse past flags at half-staff near the Union Building on Kanawha Boulevard. A riderless horse symbolizes a fallen leader, with the boots backward as if that leader is looking back at his people a final time.

The caisson bearing Byrd's casket arrives at the state Capitol Tuesday evening.

Members of the West Virginia National Guard carry Sen. Robert C. Byrd's casket from Kanawha Boulevard toward the steps of the state Capitol.

C-130 airplanes from the West Virginia Air National Guard flew over the state Capitol as Byrd was taken there Thursday evening. Byrd led the fight to keep the planes in West Virginia.

The crowd that followed Byrd's hearse down Kanawha Boulevard mingled with others at the foot of the state Capitol's south steps for a brief ceremony.

After a short private family service, Byrd's casket was placed in the Rotunda, where members of the public began filing past it. The public viewing was to continue until 9 a.m. Friday.