National Capitol Building, Washington, DC

United States Capitol is the capitol building that serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is located in Washington, D.C., on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall. Although not in the geographic center of the District of Columbia, the Capitol is the focus by which the quadrants of the district are divided. Curiously, the west face, which is often taken to be the "front" of the building, is actually its "back"; the true front is the east face.

The building was originally designed by William Thornton. This plan was subsequently modified by Stephen Hallet, Benjamin Latrobe and then Charles Bulfinch. The current dome and the House and Senate wings were designed by Thomas U. Walter and August Schoenborn, a German immigrant, and were completed under the supervision of Edward Clark.

The building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings, one for each chamber of Congress: the north wing is the Senate chamber and the south wing is the House of Representatives chamber. Above these chambers are galleries where visitors can watch the Senate and House of Representatives. It is an example of the Neoclassical architecture style. The statue on top of the dome is the Statue of Freedom.

History

Previous Capitols
Prior to 1800, at least eight other buildings and eight other cities have hosted Congress, going back to the First Continental Congress. Since the ratification of the United States Constitution, Congress has only met in two other buildings. The capital was first located in New York, with Congress meeting in City Hall (Federal Hall) from 1785 to 1790. Philadelphia served as the Capital from 1790 to 1800. During that time, Congress met at the Philadelphia County Building (Congress Hall).

Construction

The site for the United States Capitol chosen by Pierre Charles L'Enfant was Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet (27 m) above the Potomac River. The site is one mile (1.6 km) from the White House. Pierre-Charles L'Enfant secured the lease of quarries at Wigginton Island and along Aquia Creek in Virginia for use in the foundations and outer walls of the Capitol in November 1791.

In 1792, a contest was announced by Commissioners of the Federal City seeking designs for both the Congress House and the President's House. The contest deadline was July 15, 1792, with rewards including $500 and a lot in the city. All the drawings submitted were considered inadequate and rejected. The most promising of the submissions was by Stephen Hallet. However, a late entry by amateur architect William Thornton was submitted on January 31, 1793 to much praise by President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Thornton was inspired by the east front of the Louvre, as well as the Pantheon for the center portion of the design. Thornton's design was officially approved in a letter, dated April 5, 1793, from George Washington. In effort to console Hallet, the commissioners appointed him to review Thornton's plans, develop cost estimates, and serve as superintendent of construction. Hallet proceeded to pick apart and make drastic changes to Thornton's design, which he saw as amateur with numerous problems and high costs to build. Jefferson appointed a five-member commission, including Hallet and James Hoban, to address problems with and revise Thornton's plan. Except for some details in Thornton's plan that specified an open recess in the center of the East front, the revised plan was accepted.

Adorned in masonic attire, George Washington laid the cornerstone on September 18, 1793 during a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the Capitol. The stone is located near the Old Supreme Court, through a passageway taken by people visiting the United States Senate Gallery. It is not known that this actually is the original cornerstone, but it was engraved with a masonic symbol and commissioned in 1893 (100 years after its placement). The cornerstone has been moved from its original location.

Construction proceeded with Hallet working under supervision of James Hoban, who was also busy working on construction of the White House. Despite the wishes of Jefferson and the President, Hallet went ahead anyway and modified Thornton's design for the East front and created a square central court that projected from the center, with flanking wings which would house the legislative bodies. Hallet was dismissed by Jefferson on November 15, 1794. George Hadfield was hired on October 15, 1795 as superintendent of construction, but resigned three years later in May 1798, due to dissatisfaction with Thornton's plan and quality of work done thus far.

The Senate wing was completed in 1800, while the House wing was completed in 1811. However, the House of Representatives moved into the House wing in 1807. Though the building was incomplete, the Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800. The legislature was moved to Washington prematurely, at the urging of President John Adams in hopes of securing enough Southern votes to be re-elected for a second term as president.

The Capitol was built and later expanded in the 1850s using the labor of slaves "who cut the logs, laid the stones and baked the bricks." The original plan was to use workers brought in from Europe; however, there was a poor response to recruitment efforts, and African Americans—free and slave—composed the majority of the work force.

The Statue of Freedom on top of the dome was completed in 1863.

The Supreme Court also met in the Capitol until its own building (behind the East Front) was completed in 1935.

War of 1812

Not long after the completion of both wings, the Capitol was partially burned by the British in August 1814, during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began in 1815 and was completed by 1819. Construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol. Architect Benjamin Latrobe is principally connected with the original construction and many innovative interior features; his successor, Charles Bulfinch, also played a major role, such as the design of the first dome.

Expansion

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850s. The original timber-framed dome of 1818 would no longer be appropriately scaled. Thomas U. Walter was responsible for the wing extensions and the "wedding cake" cast-iron dome, three times the height of the original dome and 100 feet (30 m) in diameter, which had to be supported on the existing masonry piers. Like Mansart's dome at Les Invalides (which he had visited in 1838), Walter's dome is double, with a large oculus in the inner dome, through which is seen The Apotheosis of Washington painted on a shell suspended from the supporting ribs, which also support the visible exterior structure and the tholos that supports the Freedom, a colossal statue that was added to the top of the dome in 1863. The weight of the cast-iron for the dome has been published as 8,909,200 pounds (4,041,100 kg).

When the dome of the Capitol was finally completed, it was significantly larger than the original plan, and its massive visual weight overpowered the proportions of the columns of the East Portico, built in 1828. The East Front of the Capitol building was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of the architects Carrère and Hastings, who also designed the Senate and House office buildings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet (10.2 m) from the old Front during 1958-1962, and a connecting extension incorporated what formerly was an outside wall as an inside wall. In the process, the Corinthian columns were removed, and landscape designer Russell Page created a suitable setting for them in a large meadow at the National Arboretum, where they are combined with a reflecting pool in an ensemble that reminds some visitors of Persepolis. The Capitol draws heavily from other notable buildings, especially churches and landmarks in Europe, including the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and St. Paul's Cathedral in London. On the roofs of the Senate and House Chambers are flagpoles that fly the U.S. flag when either is in session.

20th Century

Underground tunnels (and even a private underground railway) connect the main Capitol building with each of the Congressional office buildings in the surrounding complex. All rooms in the Capitol are designated as either S (for Senate) or H (for House), depending on whether they are north (Senate) or south (House) of the Rotunda. Similarly, rooms in the Congressional office buildings are designated as HOB (for House Office Building, which are all south of the Capitol) or SOB (for Senate Office Building, which are all north of the Capitol). Additionally, all addresses in Washington, D. C. are designated NE, NW, SE, or SW, in relationship to the Rotunda. (Since the Capitol Rotunda is not located in the center of the District — it is slightly farther east and south — the four D.C. quadrants are not the same shape and size.)

On June 20, 2000, ground was broken for the Capitol Visitor Center, which is due to open in Summer 2008. Since 2001, the East Front of the Capitol (site of most Presidential Inaugurations until Ronald Reagan broke tradition in 1981) has been the site of construction for this massive underground complex, designed to facilitate a more orderly entrance for visitors to the Capitol. (When construction is complete, the East Front will be restored to its earlier, pre-pavement appearance.) Prior to the center being built, visitors to the Capitol had to queue on the parking lot and ascend the stairs, whereupon entry was made through the massive sculpted Columbus Doors, through a small narthex (with cramped security) and thence directly into the Rotunda. The new underground facility will provide a grand entrance hall, a visitors theater, room for exhibits, and dining and restroom facilities, in addition to space for building necessities such as an underground service tunnel. Some people, however, lament the loss of the ability of the common person to walk right into the Capitol.