U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., talk, via a live downlink, to NASA Astronaut Tom Marshburn onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during a NASA briefing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Marshburn discussed the opportunities provided by the station’s unique microgravity environment. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) flies near the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in Washington. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers. Photo Credit: (NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Ken Rahaim)

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., talk, via a live downlink, to NASA Astronaut Tom Marshburn onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during a NASA briefing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Marshburn discussed the opportunities provided by the station’s unique microgravity environment. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A view of the U.S. Capitol Building's Dome, taken from the east side.

A view of the U.S. Capitol Building's Dome, taken from the east side.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., talks, via a live downlink, to NASA Astronaut Tom Marshburn onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during a NASA briefing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Marshburn discussed the opportunities provided by the station’s unique microgravity environment. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

• Parts: 36,800+ (~1,130 unique)

• 📐 Scale: 1:650

• 📏 Dimensions: 32in x 51in (80cm x 130cm)

• 📚 Research, Design + Build Time: 4 months

• Photography: James Vitullo 📷

• ©️ MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC

___________________________________

During a brief stint in Washington D.C. in 2023, I spent the better part of a summer evening exploring the grounds of Capitol Hill. Few landscapes invite as much inquiry along winding paths paired with plenty of moments for quiet introspection on marble benches; all in picturesque view of the Capitol dome. These on-site experiences are exactly the form of anecdotal justification I seek when considering whether to recreate such monumental places in the first place.

In tackling any work of such storied precedence as the US Capitol, I always seek to expand the conversation beyond existing works in the medium of plastic bricks. While the consistent 1:650 scale among my works has always ensured some level of originality, it is no guarantee of further insight that cannot already be gleaned from existing works by other artists. With this in mind, I set out to capture the full 100-acre site currently maintained by The Architect of the Capitol. What's more, the diorama depicts a particular time of year - specifically late March to early April - as illustrated by the iconic presence of hundreds of cherry blossoms rendered in two shades of light pink.

The diorama starts downhill at the trapezoidal Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the Grant Memorial taking pride of place along its eastern edge and the US Botanic Garden across the street to the south. The diorama expands from there, capturing the radiating pathways meandering uphill, as designed by Frederick Law Olmsted within the parcels laid out in the city plan by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The piece culminates with the widely imitated US Capitol Building, perched atop a plinth projecting from the Capitol Visitor Center on the opposite side.

Topping everything off is a custom-made representation of the Statue of Freedom (as designed by Thomas Crawford), steadfastly overlooking the National Mall from atop the dome. The statue was designed in collaboration with BigKidBrix and was sized comparably to the minifigure statuette / trophy element.

The piece was designed over the course of about two months: first in December 2023 through January 2024, paused during the build-out of SPQR - Phase II, then resumed between March and April. The build-out lasted from July through August and was completed by September. The piece will soon be added to my personal gallery of works, now available for touring exhibitions.

#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #USCapitol #USCapitolBuilding #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #America #USA #Diorama #AmericanHistory

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitol and, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

From Out of the Shadows set. A rainy night In Washington, DC as seen from the National Mall.

View On Black

Washington, DC

My next EXCLUSIVE kit depicts the iconic bronze sculpture by Thomas Crawford, atop the US Capitol Building!

Out of Many, One: Celebrating the imminent completion of my Capitol Hill landscape diorama, the kit includes 122 parts, most of which are sand green elements. The style is greatly inspired by that of my Discobulus kit and will stand approximately 7 inches (17.5 cm) when fully built.

In addition, the kit includes three custom-printed tiles

⏳ Subscribe to the CORINTHIAN tier over on my Patreon by August 31st to receive yours!

Link to Patreon in bio for further details & qualification ➡️🔗⤵️

lnkd.in/gNrcGSK2

#Artist #SupportArtists #SupportOnPatreon #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #USCapitol #USCapitolBuilding #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #StatueOfFreedom #USA

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, speaks to members of the Congressional Black Caucus during their weekly meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

National Symphony Orchestra Conductor Emil de Cou leads the National Symphony Orchestra during the Labor Day Weekend concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, Sunday, September 5, 2010 in Washington. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden joined the Orchestra to introduce one the program's segments, music from the film "Apollo 13". Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

West Side US Capitol Building.

#######################################################################

Interested in seeing more "destination" images? Check out the sets in my collection titled:

Beyond Cenral Illinois

Of course, you are always welcome here in Central Illinois. Here are my collections and sets relating to the middle section of the Land of Lincoln:

Central Illinois (excluding Springfield)

Springfield and ONLY Springfield

All About Abe (Lincoln)

Lastly, here are a few more "topical" sets that may be of interest to you:

Things that are Abandoned, Neglected, Weathered, or Rusty

Barbers & Barber Shops

Vintage Cars & Trucks - Junkers to Classic Collectibles

Small Town Churches

All Things Political

Thank you for visiting my photostream - myoldpostcards

• Parts: 36,800+ (~1,130 unique)

• 📐 Scale: 1:650

• 📏 Dimensions: 32in x 51in (80cm x 130cm)

• 📚 Research, Design + Build Time: 4 months

• Photography: James Vitullo 📷

• ©️ MMXXIV - Rocco Buttliere, LLC

___________________________________

During a brief stint in Washington D.C. in 2023, I spent the better part of a summer evening exploring the grounds of Capitol Hill. Few landscapes invite as much inquiry along winding paths paired with plenty of moments for quiet introspection on marble benches; all in picturesque view of the Capitol dome. These on-site experiences are exactly the form of anecdotal justification I seek when considering whether to recreate such monumental places in the first place.

In tackling any work of such storied precedence as the US Capitol, I always seek to expand the conversation beyond existing works in the medium of plastic bricks. While the consistent 1:650 scale among my works has always ensured some level of originality, it is no guarantee of further insight that cannot already be gleaned from existing works by other artists. With this in mind, I set out to capture the full 100-acre site currently maintained by The Architect of the Capitol. What's more, the diorama depicts a particular time of year - specifically late March to early April - as illustrated by the iconic presence of hundreds of cherry blossoms rendered in two shades of light pink.

The diorama starts downhill at the trapezoidal Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the Grant Memorial taking pride of place along its eastern edge and the US Botanic Garden across the street to the south. The diorama expands from there, capturing the radiating pathways meandering uphill, as designed by Frederick Law Olmsted within the parcels laid out in the city plan by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The piece culminates with the widely imitated US Capitol Building, perched atop a plinth projecting from the Capitol Visitor Center on the opposite side.

Topping everything off is a custom-made representation of the Statue of Freedom (as designed by Thomas Crawford), steadfastly overlooking the National Mall from atop the dome. The statue was designed in collaboration with BigKidBrix and was sized comparably to the minifigure statuette / trophy element.

The piece was designed over the course of about two months: first in December 2023 through January 2024, paused during the build-out of SPQR - Phase II, then resumed between March and April. The build-out lasted from July through August and was completed by September. The piece will soon be added to my personal gallery of works, now available for touring exhibitions.

#Artist #SupportArtists #FineArt #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinessOwner #ChicagoArtist #LEGO #LEGOArchitecture #LEGOArt #LEGOArtist #InstaLEGO #GoBricks #USCapitol #USCapitolBuilding #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #America #USA #Diorama #AmericanHistory

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., talk, via a live downlink, to NASA Astronaut Tom Marshburn onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during a NASA briefing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Marshburn discussed the opportunities provided by the station’s unique microgravity environment. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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'>reflecting pool.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

In my semi-random wanderings, I discovered that the LOC has some of the most interesting architecture in town.

A view of the U.S. Capitol Building's Dome, taken from the east side.

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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'>reflecting pool.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

As we approached Capitol Hill the early morning sun was now blocked by the massive US Capitol Building and its facade was taking shape. For the twenty five minutes we walked along Pennsylvania Avenue, the building was prominent on the horizon at the end of the avenue yet hidden in a wash of light. I felt relieved to finally look directly at the structure, now high overhead, free from a direct view of the sun. Back-lit, the white marble dome obstructed the rays of light now casting a perfect yellow dome-shaped silhouette against the deep blue sky. I first admired the immense scale of the structure. But it was the color that soon consumed my thoughts. Where do they get such white marble? And how do they keep it so bright? Other structures, similar in style and age, that I’ve seen in Europe, seem in constant need of deep cleansing. Their surfaces are stained black from centuries of bombardment from soot and pollutants.

I had thought I had been on a tour of the Capitol Building on a school trip. Though once I entered the remarkable rotunda I was sure I had not. The coffered dome floats high overhead, higher than I anticipated. Lifted like the lid of a jar, it is separated from its rotunda by a ring of light-flooding windows. In the bath of morning light diffused from above, the detailed textures of the white marble and brush strokes of the artwork were now visible when they were not outside. The wedding cake-like layers tell the surprisingly comprehensive history of the nation.

Down below it would never be apparent how early in the morning it was. The floor of the rotunda buzzed with tourists. They huddled, snapped photos and darted about like perfectly synchronized schools of fish. All of this was quite dangerous and the risk of collisions seemed inevitable as all had their heads tilted back and their eyes intently affixed to the lofty dome. I was surprised to not find the hoards of field-tripping children that I expected. Adults, some with children, were in their stead. They were from all walks of life and impressively quiet in the cacophonous space. In the absence of rambunctious screams I heard the murmur of some half-a-dozen languages whispered in restrained respect. The air of the womb over our heads was still and warm. And all in attendance stretched to breath it.

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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'>reflecting pool.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

The structure situated between where the guy is sitting and the Capitol Building is one of the red-granite "monumental pylons with bronze light fixtures" designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted for the landscaping around the East Front of the building.

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

The Eyes Wide Open Exhibit included a display of pairs of boots - each pair representing a US service member killed during the Iraq War.

The pictures were taken on May 13, 2006, during an exhibit on the National Mall in Washington, DC. At that time, there were 2400 pairs of boots on display.

US Capitol Complex North at Louisiana Avenue and D Street, NW, Washington DC on Monday afternoon, 18 January 2021 by Elvert Barnes Photography

US CAPITOL POLICE

Elvert Barnes COVID 19 Pandemic Part 5 New Year 2021 docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/CV19NewYear2021

Elvert Barnes Monday afternoon, 18 January 2021 In Preparation of 59th Presidential Inauguration US Capitol Complex docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/18January2021

The Amateis Doors

Bronze by Louis Amateis, 1908

The bronze Amateis Doors on display in the House Wing of the Capitol were designed by sculptor Louis Amateis for the center first-floor West Front entrance of the Capitol. The doors are cast in relief ranging from very low to high and consist of a transom, two valves, and a surrounding frame. The transom, titled “Apotheosis of America,” depicts an allegorical figure of America surrounded by figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. In the valves below Amateis created panels with scenes of many of these subjects as well as jurisprudence, sciences, agriculture, iron and electricity, and engineering. Bordering the transom and panels are eighteen portrait figures and twenty-eight medallions of people noted for their work in the fields represented in the adjacent scenes. The ornamental frame consists of oak and laurel leaves, symbolizing strength and victory, and the names of the subjects of the panels appear in relief in a variety of decorative motifs.

In March 1901 legislation was passed to appropriate funds for the Architect of the Capitol to prepare and submit to the Congress plans and estimates for reconstructing the central portion of the Capitol, a project that would include refacing the West Front in marble. In 1903 Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol and Grounds, started to explore the possibility of placing grand bronze doors, similar to those at the main East Front entrances, on the new façade. He began exchanging ideas with Louis Amateis, who founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University (today The George Washington University) and was chairman of its Fine Arts Department, about possible designs and subjects.

Their initial idea was to give the doors a historical subject. In planning the design, Amateis studied a plaster cast of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise doors at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the bronze Columbus Doors on the East Front. He soon became convinced that the West Front doors would be too narrow for double doors divided into panels of historical scenes, because the figures would need be too diminutive in size. This was confirmed when Woods and Amateis tested the idea in a clay model of one panel. In a January 1904 letter informing the Joint Committee on the Library of his formal selection of Amateis to model the doors, Woods also noted their test and stated that he felt the alternative idea of more general subjects, such as science, art, and literature, would be more successful. Amateis’s contract to model the doors was finalized three months later.

Woods and Amateis had a general idea of the subjects to be depicted in the doors, but the final choice of scenes and selection of details were worked out through a series of drawings and models, including a full-size color rendering of the doors placed in the doorway of the West Front entrance. Initially, statuettes were not planned as part of the design and medallions were to be used only if needed, but after reviewing the drawings Amateis found both to be necessary. In selecting the persons to appear in these features, he consulted a colleague at Columbian University. Woods continued to have an active role through the course of the commission. He assembled a committee of prominent architects and sculptors, including architect Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings and sculptor Daniel Chester French, to review Amateis’s work. The full-size plaster model of the doors was approved in 1908.

The casting was put out to bid the following year and the contract was awarded to Jno. Williams, Inc., with The Roman Bronze Works as subcontractor. At the committee’s recommendation, Jno. Williams, Inc. was to cast the frame for the doors using the sand-casting method and The Roman Bronze Works was to cast the reliefs in the lost-wax method, which Amateis had advocated as the best process for capturing the details of the sculpture. Amateis retouched the wax molds, reviewed the work in the foundries, and gave approval of the final doors, which were completed in 1910.

By the time the doors were cast, however, the reconstruction of the West Front had not been authorized. Amateis unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Woods to place the doors in the existing West Front entrance anyway, arguing that when the reconstruction eventually took place the doors could easily be taken down and later reinstalled. (In fact, the reconstruction was never authorized.) The doors were instead displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1910 to 1914. They were lent for display to the Smithsonian Institution in February 1914 and exhibited at the new National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History) until 1967. The doors were then returned to the Congress and placed in storage until 1972, when they were installed in their current location across from the Bulfinch stairway near the Memorial Door entrance. The first professional conservation of the doors was performed in February 2013. Dust, degraded coatings, and hand oils from people touching the doors were removed; the original patina color was restored; and a protective wax coating was applied.

Description of Subjects

Transom

America is seated in a chariot drawn by two lions led by a child, symbolizing the superiority of intellect over brute strength. Surrounding America are figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. The words “Apotheosis of America” appear in a banner below. Statuettes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson flanking the transom, and in the four corners are portrait medallions of George Peabody, financier of educational institutions; philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson; educator Horace Mann; and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Below the center of the transom, above the valves, appears an American eagle clutching arrows and the shield of the United States.

Left Valve

Jurisprudence

The scene depicts Chief Justice John Marshall, located at the center, presiding over a meeting of the Supreme Court that decided the case of Marbury v. Madison. A bust of George Washington appears directly above Marshall. Amateis took this case of the supremacy of the judicial over the executive power as the highest expression of jurisprudence. Statuettes of Daniel Webster and James Madison flank the scene, and the subjects of the portrait medallions are lawyer Rufus Choate; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney; and patriot Patrick Henry.

Science

This scene depicts an imaginary gathering of scientific thinkers throughout history. The statuettes represent chemist Oliver W. Gibbs and physicist Joseph Henry. Geologist James D. Dana; astronomer Simon Newcomb; Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone; and Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, are represented in the medallions. Amateis signed the doors “L. Amateis Wash D.C.” at the bottom of this panel.

Fine Arts

In the Fine Arts panel are historic figures from literature and music; among them are the blind poet

Homer, with his guide; Shakespeare; and Beethoven. Above them is the flying figure of Genius. Statuettes depict writer Edgar Allen Poe and William Thornton, the first architect of the U.S. Capitol. Portrait painter Gilbert Stuart and sculptor Henry Kirke Brown are represented in the medallions.

Mining

Figures work in a mine, swinging pick axes and hammers and erecting timbers. The statuettes flanking the scene represent James W. Marshall, discoverer of gold in California; and Alexander L. Holley, mining engineer. Below are medallions of engineer E.B. Case; industrialist Abram Hewitt; and geologist Clarence King.

Right Valve

Agriculture

This scene depicts the cultivation of land and the harvesting of crops. Details in the background include the figure carrying wheat and the waterwheel of a mill, where grain is processed. The statuettes depict Samuel G. Morton, physician and ethnologist; and James Wilson, agriculturist and Secretary of Agriculture. Medallions are of Senator Justin S. Morrill and agricultural chemists John Pitkin Norton and Benjamin Bussey.

Iron and Electricity

In this panel, figures are shown operating machinery and studying plans. The statuettes are of philanthropist Peter Cooper; and physicist Henry A. Rowland. The medallions show Matthias W. Baldwin, an inventor and manufacturer of locomotives, and Thomas A. Edison, inventor.

Engineering

Workers are shown laying railroad tracks, and in the background stands a feat of engineering, an iron bridge. The statuettes are James B. Eads, builder of the St. Louis Railroad; and engineer Thomas L. Casey. The medallions are of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge; and Edwin A. Stevens, of transcontinental railroad fame.

Naval Architecture and Commerce

A figure symbolizing Naval Architecture shows Commerce and Agriculture the places on a globe where they can sell their wares. The globe is held by a youth. A sailor holds a flag surmounted by a liberty cap, significant of an open-door policy. Statuettes portray Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, and John Ericsson, designer of the ironclad ship Monitor. Medallions depict Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin; Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine; John C. Fremont, the “Pathfinder”; Cyrus W. Field, financier of the Atlantic Cable; and naval constructor John Lenthall.

Louis Amateis (1855-1913)

Louis Amateis was born on December 13, 1855, in Turin, Italy, where he studied architecture at the Institute of Technology and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, receiving a gold medal from the latter for his work. He next studied art in Paris and Milan and in 1882 emigrated to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen. He first lived in New York City, where he designed some architectural sculpture, most often for the firm McKim, Mead, and White.

After marrying in 1889, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University. Amateis’s other sculptures include a portrait bust of President Chester A. Arthur, architectural sculpture for the National Cathedral School, and monuments to the Texas Revolution. He kept a studio in West Falls Church, Virginia, and he died in that city on March 16, 1913.

The Amateis Doors

Bronze by Louis Amateis, 1908

The bronze Amateis Doors on display in the House Wing of the Capitol were designed by sculptor Louis Amateis for the center first-floor West Front entrance of the Capitol. The doors are cast in relief ranging from very low to high and consist of a transom, two valves, and a surrounding frame. The transom, titled “Apotheosis of America,” depicts an allegorical figure of America surrounded by figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. In the valves below Amateis created panels with scenes of many of these subjects as well as jurisprudence, sciences, agriculture, iron and electricity, and engineering. Bordering the transom and panels are eighteen portrait figures and twenty-eight medallions of people noted for their work in the fields represented in the adjacent scenes. The ornamental frame consists of oak and laurel leaves, symbolizing strength and victory, and the names of the subjects of the panels appear in relief in a variety of decorative motifs.

In March 1901 legislation was passed to appropriate funds for the Architect of the Capitol to prepare and submit to the Congress plans and estimates for reconstructing the central portion of the Capitol, a project that would include refacing the West Front in marble. In 1903 Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol and Grounds, started to explore the possibility of placing grand bronze doors, similar to those at the main East Front entrances, on the new façade. He began exchanging ideas with Louis Amateis, who founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University (today The George Washington University) and was chairman of its Fine Arts Department, about possible designs and subjects.

Their initial idea was to give the doors a historical subject. In planning the design, Amateis studied a plaster cast of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise doors at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the bronze Columbus Doors on the East Front. He soon became convinced that the West Front doors would be too narrow for double doors divided into panels of historical scenes, because the figures would need be too diminutive in size. This was confirmed when Woods and Amateis tested the idea in a clay model of one panel. In a January 1904 letter informing the Joint Committee on the Library of his formal selection of Amateis to model the doors, Woods also noted their test and stated that he felt the alternative idea of more general subjects, such as science, art, and literature, would be more successful. Amateis’s contract to model the doors was finalized three months later.

Woods and Amateis had a general idea of the subjects to be depicted in the doors, but the final choice of scenes and selection of details were worked out through a series of drawings and models, including a full-size color rendering of the doors placed in the doorway of the West Front entrance. Initially, statuettes were not planned as part of the design and medallions were to be used only if needed, but after reviewing the drawings Amateis found both to be necessary. In selecting the persons to appear in these features, he consulted a colleague at Columbian University. Woods continued to have an active role through the course of the commission. He assembled a committee of prominent architects and sculptors, including architect Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings and sculptor Daniel Chester French, to review Amateis’s work. The full-size plaster model of the doors was approved in 1908.

The casting was put out to bid the following year and the contract was awarded to Jno. Williams, Inc., with The Roman Bronze Works as subcontractor. At the committee’s recommendation, Jno. Williams, Inc. was to cast the frame for the doors using the sand-casting method and The Roman Bronze Works was to cast the reliefs in the lost-wax method, which Amateis had advocated as the best process for capturing the details of the sculpture. Amateis retouched the wax molds, reviewed the work in the foundries, and gave approval of the final doors, which were completed in 1910.

By the time the doors were cast, however, the reconstruction of the West Front had not been authorized. Amateis unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Woods to place the doors in the existing West Front entrance anyway, arguing that when the reconstruction eventually took place the doors could easily be taken down and later reinstalled. (In fact, the reconstruction was never authorized.) The doors were instead displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1910 to 1914. They were lent for display to the Smithsonian Institution in February 1914 and exhibited at the new National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History) until 1967. The doors were then returned to the Congress and placed in storage until 1972, when they were installed in their current location across from the Bulfinch stairway near the Memorial Door entrance. The first professional conservation of the doors was performed in February 2013. Dust, degraded coatings, and hand oils from people touching the doors were removed; the original patina color was restored; and a protective wax coating was applied.

Description of Subjects

Transom

America is seated in a chariot drawn by two lions led by a child, symbolizing the superiority of intellect over brute strength. Surrounding America are figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. The words “Apotheosis of America” appear in a banner below. Statuettes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson flanking the transom, and in the four corners are portrait medallions of George Peabody, financier of educational institutions; philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson; educator Horace Mann; and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Below the center of the transom, above the valves, appears an American eagle clutching arrows and the shield of the United States.

Left Valve

Jurisprudence

The scene depicts Chief Justice John Marshall, located at the center, presiding over a meeting of the Supreme Court that decided the case of Marbury v. Madison. A bust of George Washington appears directly above Marshall. Amateis took this case of the supremacy of the judicial over the executive power as the highest expression of jurisprudence. Statuettes of Daniel Webster and James Madison flank the scene, and the subjects of the portrait medallions are lawyer Rufus Choate; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney; and patriot Patrick Henry.

Science

This scene depicts an imaginary gathering of scientific thinkers throughout history. The statuettes represent chemist Oliver W. Gibbs and physicist Joseph Henry. Geologist James D. Dana; astronomer Simon Newcomb; Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone; and Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, are represented in the medallions. Amateis signed the doors “L. Amateis Wash D.C.” at the bottom of this panel.

Fine Arts

In the Fine Arts panel are historic figures from literature and music; among them are the blind poet

Homer, with his guide; Shakespeare; and Beethoven. Above them is the flying figure of Genius. Statuettes depict writer Edgar Allen Poe and William Thornton, the first architect of the U.S. Capitol. Portrait painter Gilbert Stuart and sculptor Henry Kirke Brown are represented in the medallions.

Mining

Figures work in a mine, swinging pick axes and hammers and erecting timbers. The statuettes flanking the scene represent James W. Marshall, discoverer of gold in California; and Alexander L. Holley, mining engineer. Below are medallions of engineer E.B. Case; industrialist Abram Hewitt; and geologist Clarence King.

Right Valve

Agriculture

This scene depicts the cultivation of land and the harvesting of crops. Details in the background include the figure carrying wheat and the waterwheel of a mill, where grain is processed. The statuettes depict Samuel G. Morton, physician and ethnologist; and James Wilson, agriculturist and Secretary of Agriculture. Medallions are of Senator Justin S. Morrill and agricultural chemists John Pitkin Norton and Benjamin Bussey.

Iron and Electricity

In this panel, figures are shown operating machinery and studying plans. The statuettes are of philanthropist Peter Cooper; and physicist Henry A. Rowland. The medallions show Matthias W. Baldwin, an inventor and manufacturer of locomotives, and Thomas A. Edison, inventor.

Engineering

Workers are shown laying railroad tracks, and in the background stands a feat of engineering, an iron bridge. The statuettes are James B. Eads, builder of the St. Louis Railroad; and engineer Thomas L. Casey. The medallions are of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge; and Edwin A. Stevens, of transcontinental railroad fame.

Naval Architecture and Commerce

A figure symbolizing Naval Architecture shows Commerce and Agriculture the places on a globe where they can sell their wares. The globe is held by a youth. A sailor holds a flag surmounted by a liberty cap, significant of an open-door policy. Statuettes portray Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, and John Ericsson, designer of the ironclad ship Monitor. Medallions depict Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin; Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine; John C. Fremont, the “Pathfinder”; Cyrus W. Field, financier of the Atlantic Cable; and naval constructor John Lenthall.

Louis Amateis (1855-1913)

Louis Amateis was born on December 13, 1855, in Turin, Italy, where he studied architecture at the Institute of Technology and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, receiving a gold medal from the latter for his work. He next studied art in Paris and Milan and in 1882 emigrated to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen. He first lived in New York City, where he designed some architectural sculpture, most often for the firm McKim, Mead, and White.

After marrying in 1889, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University. Amateis’s other sculptures include a portrait bust of President Chester A. Arthur, architectural sculpture for the National Cathedral School, and monuments to the Texas Revolution. He kept a studio in West Falls Church, Virginia, and he died in that city on March 16, 1913.

The Amateis Doors

Bronze by Louis Amateis, 1908

The bronze Amateis Doors on display in the House Wing of the Capitol were designed by sculptor Louis Amateis for the center first-floor West Front entrance of the Capitol. The doors are cast in relief ranging from very low to high and consist of a transom, two valves, and a surrounding frame. The transom, titled “Apotheosis of America,” depicts an allegorical figure of America surrounded by figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. In the valves below Amateis created panels with scenes of many of these subjects as well as jurisprudence, sciences, agriculture, iron and electricity, and engineering. Bordering the transom and panels are eighteen portrait figures and twenty-eight medallions of people noted for their work in the fields represented in the adjacent scenes. The ornamental frame consists of oak and laurel leaves, symbolizing strength and victory, and the names of the subjects of the panels appear in relief in a variety of decorative motifs.

In March 1901 legislation was passed to appropriate funds for the Architect of the Capitol to prepare and submit to the Congress plans and estimates for reconstructing the central portion of the Capitol, a project that would include refacing the West Front in marble. In 1903 Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol and Grounds, started to explore the possibility of placing grand bronze doors, similar to those at the main East Front entrances, on the new façade. He began exchanging ideas with Louis Amateis, who founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University (today The George Washington University) and was chairman of its Fine Arts Department, about possible designs and subjects.

Their initial idea was to give the doors a historical subject. In planning the design, Amateis studied a plaster cast of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise doors at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the bronze Columbus Doors on the East Front. He soon became convinced that the West Front doors would be too narrow for double doors divided into panels of historical scenes, because the figures would need be too diminutive in size. This was confirmed when Woods and Amateis tested the idea in a clay model of one panel. In a January 1904 letter informing the Joint Committee on the Library of his formal selection of Amateis to model the doors, Woods also noted their test and stated that he felt the alternative idea of more general subjects, such as science, art, and literature, would be more successful. Amateis’s contract to model the doors was finalized three months later.

Woods and Amateis had a general idea of the subjects to be depicted in the doors, but the final choice of scenes and selection of details were worked out through a series of drawings and models, including a full-size color rendering of the doors placed in the doorway of the West Front entrance. Initially, statuettes were not planned as part of the design and medallions were to be used only if needed, but after reviewing the drawings Amateis found both to be necessary. In selecting the persons to appear in these features, he consulted a colleague at Columbian University. Woods continued to have an active role through the course of the commission. He assembled a committee of prominent architects and sculptors, including architect Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings and sculptor Daniel Chester French, to review Amateis’s work. The full-size plaster model of the doors was approved in 1908.

The casting was put out to bid the following year and the contract was awarded to Jno. Williams, Inc., with The Roman Bronze Works as subcontractor. At the committee’s recommendation, Jno. Williams, Inc. was to cast the frame for the doors using the sand-casting method and The Roman Bronze Works was to cast the reliefs in the lost-wax method, which Amateis had advocated as the best process for capturing the details of the sculpture. Amateis retouched the wax molds, reviewed the work in the foundries, and gave approval of the final doors, which were completed in 1910.

By the time the doors were cast, however, the reconstruction of the West Front had not been authorized. Amateis unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Woods to place the doors in the existing West Front entrance anyway, arguing that when the reconstruction eventually took place the doors could easily be taken down and later reinstalled. (In fact, the reconstruction was never authorized.) The doors were instead displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1910 to 1914. They were lent for display to the Smithsonian Institution in February 1914 and exhibited at the new National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History) until 1967. The doors were then returned to the Congress and placed in storage until 1972, when they were installed in their current location across from the Bulfinch stairway near the Memorial Door entrance. The first professional conservation of the doors was performed in February 2013. Dust, degraded coatings, and hand oils from people touching the doors were removed; the original patina color was restored; and a protective wax coating was applied.

Description of Subjects

Transom

America is seated in a chariot drawn by two lions led by a child, symbolizing the superiority of intellect over brute strength. Surrounding America are figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. The words “Apotheosis of America” appear in a banner below. Statuettes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson flanking the transom, and in the four corners are portrait medallions of George Peabody, financier of educational institutions; philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson; educator Horace Mann; and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Below the center of the transom, above the valves, appears an American eagle clutching arrows and the shield of the United States.

Left Valve

Jurisprudence

The scene depicts Chief Justice John Marshall, located at the center, presiding over a meeting of the Supreme Court that decided the case of Marbury v. Madison. A bust of George Washington appears directly above Marshall. Amateis took this case of the supremacy of the judicial over the executive power as the highest expression of jurisprudence. Statuettes of Daniel Webster and James Madison flank the scene, and the subjects of the portrait medallions are lawyer Rufus Choate; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney; and patriot Patrick Henry.

Science

This scene depicts an imaginary gathering of scientific thinkers throughout history. The statuettes represent chemist Oliver W. Gibbs and physicist Joseph Henry. Geologist James D. Dana; astronomer Simon Newcomb; Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone; and Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, are represented in the medallions. Amateis signed the doors “L. Amateis Wash D.C.” at the bottom of this panel.

Fine Arts

In the Fine Arts panel are historic figures from literature and music; among them are the blind poet

Homer, with his guide; Shakespeare; and Beethoven. Above them is the flying figure of Genius. Statuettes depict writer Edgar Allen Poe and William Thornton, the first architect of the U.S. Capitol. Portrait painter Gilbert Stuart and sculptor Henry Kirke Brown are represented in the medallions.

Mining

Figures work in a mine, swinging pick axes and hammers and erecting timbers. The statuettes flanking the scene represent James W. Marshall, discoverer of gold in California; and Alexander L. Holley, mining engineer. Below are medallions of engineer E.B. Case; industrialist Abram Hewitt; and geologist Clarence King.

Right Valve

Agriculture

This scene depicts the cultivation of land and the harvesting of crops. Details in the background include the figure carrying wheat and the waterwheel of a mill, where grain is processed. The statuettes depict Samuel G. Morton, physician and ethnologist; and James Wilson, agriculturist and Secretary of Agriculture. Medallions are of Senator Justin S. Morrill and agricultural chemists John Pitkin Norton and Benjamin Bussey.

Iron and Electricity

In this panel, figures are shown operating machinery and studying plans. The statuettes are of philanthropist Peter Cooper; and physicist Henry A. Rowland. The medallions show Matthias W. Baldwin, an inventor and manufacturer of locomotives, and Thomas A. Edison, inventor.

Engineering

Workers are shown laying railroad tracks, and in the background stands a feat of engineering, an iron bridge. The statuettes are James B. Eads, builder of the St. Louis Railroad; and engineer Thomas L. Casey. The medallions are of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge; and Edwin A. Stevens, of transcontinental railroad fame.

Naval Architecture and Commerce

A figure symbolizing Naval Architecture shows Commerce and Agriculture the places on a globe where they can sell their wares. The globe is held by a youth. A sailor holds a flag surmounted by a liberty cap, significant of an open-door policy. Statuettes portray Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, and John Ericsson, designer of the ironclad ship Monitor. Medallions depict Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin; Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine; John C. Fremont, the “Pathfinder”; Cyrus W. Field, financier of the Atlantic Cable; and naval constructor John Lenthall.

Louis Amateis (1855-1913)

Louis Amateis was born on December 13, 1855, in Turin, Italy, where he studied architecture at the Institute of Technology and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, receiving a gold medal from the latter for his work. He next studied art in Paris and Milan and in 1882 emigrated to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen. He first lived in New York City, where he designed some architectural sculpture, most often for the firm McKim, Mead, and White.

After marrying in 1889, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University. Amateis’s other sculptures include a portrait bust of President Chester A. Arthur, architectural sculpture for the National Cathedral School, and monuments to the Texas Revolution. He kept a studio in West Falls Church, Virginia, and he died in that city on March 16, 1913.

The Amateis Doors

Bronze by Louis Amateis, 1908

The bronze Amateis Doors on display in the House Wing of the Capitol were designed by sculptor Louis Amateis for the center first-floor West Front entrance of the Capitol. The doors are cast in relief ranging from very low to high and consist of a transom, two valves, and a surrounding frame. The transom, titled “Apotheosis of America,” depicts an allegorical figure of America surrounded by figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. In the valves below Amateis created panels with scenes of many of these subjects as well as jurisprudence, sciences, agriculture, iron and electricity, and engineering. Bordering the transom and panels are eighteen portrait figures and twenty-eight medallions of people noted for their work in the fields represented in the adjacent scenes. The ornamental frame consists of oak and laurel leaves, symbolizing strength and victory, and the names of the subjects of the panels appear in relief in a variety of decorative motifs.

In March 1901 legislation was passed to appropriate funds for the Architect of the Capitol to prepare and submit to the Congress plans and estimates for reconstructing the central portion of the Capitol, a project that would include refacing the West Front in marble. In 1903 Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol and Grounds, started to explore the possibility of placing grand bronze doors, similar to those at the main East Front entrances, on the new façade. He began exchanging ideas with Louis Amateis, who founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University (today The George Washington University) and was chairman of its Fine Arts Department, about possible designs and subjects.

Their initial idea was to give the doors a historical subject. In planning the design, Amateis studied a plaster cast of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise doors at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the bronze Columbus Doors on the East Front. He soon became convinced that the West Front doors would be too narrow for double doors divided into panels of historical scenes, because the figures would need be too diminutive in size. This was confirmed when Woods and Amateis tested the idea in a clay model of one panel. In a January 1904 letter informing the Joint Committee on the Library of his formal selection of Amateis to model the doors, Woods also noted their test and stated that he felt the alternative idea of more general subjects, such as science, art, and literature, would be more successful. Amateis’s contract to model the doors was finalized three months later.

Woods and Amateis had a general idea of the subjects to be depicted in the doors, but the final choice of scenes and selection of details were worked out through a series of drawings and models, including a full-size color rendering of the doors placed in the doorway of the West Front entrance. Initially, statuettes were not planned as part of the design and medallions were to be used only if needed, but after reviewing the drawings Amateis found both to be necessary. In selecting the persons to appear in these features, he consulted a colleague at Columbian University. Woods continued to have an active role through the course of the commission. He assembled a committee of prominent architects and sculptors, including architect Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings and sculptor Daniel Chester French, to review Amateis’s work. The full-size plaster model of the doors was approved in 1908.

The casting was put out to bid the following year and the contract was awarded to Jno. Williams, Inc., with The Roman Bronze Works as subcontractor. At the committee’s recommendation, Jno. Williams, Inc. was to cast the frame for the doors using the sand-casting method and The Roman Bronze Works was to cast the reliefs in the lost-wax method, which Amateis had advocated as the best process for capturing the details of the sculpture. Amateis retouched the wax molds, reviewed the work in the foundries, and gave approval of the final doors, which were completed in 1910.

By the time the doors were cast, however, the reconstruction of the West Front had not been authorized. Amateis unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Woods to place the doors in the existing West Front entrance anyway, arguing that when the reconstruction eventually took place the doors could easily be taken down and later reinstalled. (In fact, the reconstruction was never authorized.) The doors were instead displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1910 to 1914. They were lent for display to the Smithsonian Institution in February 1914 and exhibited at the new National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History) until 1967. The doors were then returned to the Congress and placed in storage until 1972, when they were installed in their current location across from the Bulfinch stairway near the Memorial Door entrance. The first professional conservation of the doors was performed in February 2013. Dust, degraded coatings, and hand oils from people touching the doors were removed; the original patina color was restored; and a protective wax coating was applied.

Description of Subjects

Transom

America is seated in a chariot drawn by two lions led by a child, symbolizing the superiority of intellect over brute strength. Surrounding America are figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. The words “Apotheosis of America” appear in a banner below. Statuettes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson flanking the transom, and in the four corners are portrait medallions of George Peabody, financier of educational institutions; philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson; educator Horace Mann; and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Below the center of the transom, above the valves, appears an American eagle clutching arrows and the shield of the United States.

Left Valve

Jurisprudence

The scene depicts Chief Justice John Marshall, located at the center, presiding over a meeting of the Supreme Court that decided the case of Marbury v. Madison. A bust of George Washington appears directly above Marshall. Amateis took this case of the supremacy of the judicial over the executive power as the highest expression of jurisprudence. Statuettes of Daniel Webster and James Madison flank the scene, and the subjects of the portrait medallions are lawyer Rufus Choate; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney; and patriot Patrick Henry.

Science

This scene depicts an imaginary gathering of scientific thinkers throughout history. The statuettes represent chemist Oliver W. Gibbs and physicist Joseph Henry. Geologist James D. Dana; astronomer Simon Newcomb; Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone; and Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, are represented in the medallions. Amateis signed the doors “L. Amateis Wash D.C.” at the bottom of this panel.

Fine Arts

In the Fine Arts panel are historic figures from literature and music; among them are the blind poet

Homer, with his guide; Shakespeare; and Beethoven. Above them is the flying figure of Genius. Statuettes depict writer Edgar Allen Poe and William Thornton, the first architect of the U.S. Capitol. Portrait painter Gilbert Stuart and sculptor Henry Kirke Brown are represented in the medallions.

Mining

Figures work in a mine, swinging pick axes and hammers and erecting timbers. The statuettes flanking the scene represent James W. Marshall, discoverer of gold in California; and Alexander L. Holley, mining engineer. Below are medallions of engineer E.B. Case; industrialist Abram Hewitt; and geologist Clarence King.

Right Valve

Agriculture

This scene depicts the cultivation of land and the harvesting of crops. Details in the background include the figure carrying wheat and the waterwheel of a mill, where grain is processed. The statuettes depict Samuel G. Morton, physician and ethnologist; and James Wilson, agriculturist and Secretary of Agriculture. Medallions are of Senator Justin S. Morrill and agricultural chemists John Pitkin Norton and Benjamin Bussey.

Iron and Electricity

In this panel, figures are shown operating machinery and studying plans. The statuettes are of philanthropist Peter Cooper; and physicist Henry A. Rowland. The medallions show Matthias W. Baldwin, an inventor and manufacturer of locomotives, and Thomas A. Edison, inventor.

Engineering

Workers are shown laying railroad tracks, and in the background stands a feat of engineering, an iron bridge. The statuettes are James B. Eads, builder of the St. Louis Railroad; and engineer Thomas L. Casey. The medallions are of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge; and Edwin A. Stevens, of transcontinental railroad fame.

Naval Architecture and Commerce

A figure symbolizing Naval Architecture shows Commerce and Agriculture the places on a globe where they can sell their wares. The globe is held by a youth. A sailor holds a flag surmounted by a liberty cap, significant of an open-door policy. Statuettes portray Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, and John Ericsson, designer of the ironclad ship Monitor. Medallions depict Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin; Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine; John C. Fremont, the “Pathfinder”; Cyrus W. Field, financier of the Atlantic Cable; and naval constructor John Lenthall.

Louis Amateis (1855-1913)

Louis Amateis was born on December 13, 1855, in Turin, Italy, where he studied architecture at the Institute of Technology and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, receiving a gold medal from the latter for his work. He next studied art in Paris and Milan and in 1882 emigrated to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen. He first lived in New York City, where he designed some architectural sculpture, most often for the firm McKim, Mead, and White.

After marrying in 1889, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University. Amateis’s other sculptures include a portrait bust of President Chester A. Arthur, architectural sculpture for the National Cathedral School, and monuments to the Texas Revolution. He kept a studio in West Falls Church, Virginia, and he died in that city on March 16, 1913.

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

The Amateis Doors

Bronze by Louis Amateis, 1908

The bronze Amateis Doors on display in the House Wing of the Capitol were designed by sculptor Louis Amateis for the center first-floor West Front entrance of the Capitol. The doors are cast in relief ranging from very low to high and consist of a transom, two valves, and a surrounding frame. The transom, titled “Apotheosis of America,” depicts an allegorical figure of America surrounded by figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. In the valves below Amateis created panels with scenes of many of these subjects as well as jurisprudence, sciences, agriculture, iron and electricity, and engineering. Bordering the transom and panels are eighteen portrait figures and twenty-eight medallions of people noted for their work in the fields represented in the adjacent scenes. The ornamental frame consists of oak and laurel leaves, symbolizing strength and victory, and the names of the subjects of the panels appear in relief in a variety of decorative motifs.

In March 1901 legislation was passed to appropriate funds for the Architect of the Capitol to prepare and submit to the Congress plans and estimates for reconstructing the central portion of the Capitol, a project that would include refacing the West Front in marble. In 1903 Elliott Woods, Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol and Grounds, started to explore the possibility of placing grand bronze doors, similar to those at the main East Front entrances, on the new façade. He began exchanging ideas with Louis Amateis, who founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University (today The George Washington University) and was chairman of its Fine Arts Department, about possible designs and subjects.

Their initial idea was to give the doors a historical subject. In planning the design, Amateis studied a plaster cast of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise doors at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the bronze Columbus Doors on the East Front. He soon became convinced that the West Front doors would be too narrow for double doors divided into panels of historical scenes, because the figures would need be too diminutive in size. This was confirmed when Woods and Amateis tested the idea in a clay model of one panel. In a January 1904 letter informing the Joint Committee on the Library of his formal selection of Amateis to model the doors, Woods also noted their test and stated that he felt the alternative idea of more general subjects, such as science, art, and literature, would be more successful. Amateis’s contract to model the doors was finalized three months later.

Woods and Amateis had a general idea of the subjects to be depicted in the doors, but the final choice of scenes and selection of details were worked out through a series of drawings and models, including a full-size color rendering of the doors placed in the doorway of the West Front entrance. Initially, statuettes were not planned as part of the design and medallions were to be used only if needed, but after reviewing the drawings Amateis found both to be necessary. In selecting the persons to appear in these features, he consulted a colleague at Columbian University. Woods continued to have an active role through the course of the commission. He assembled a committee of prominent architects and sculptors, including architect Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings and sculptor Daniel Chester French, to review Amateis’s work. The full-size plaster model of the doors was approved in 1908.

The casting was put out to bid the following year and the contract was awarded to Jno. Williams, Inc., with The Roman Bronze Works as subcontractor. At the committee’s recommendation, Jno. Williams, Inc. was to cast the frame for the doors using the sand-casting method and The Roman Bronze Works was to cast the reliefs in the lost-wax method, which Amateis had advocated as the best process for capturing the details of the sculpture. Amateis retouched the wax molds, reviewed the work in the foundries, and gave approval of the final doors, which were completed in 1910.

By the time the doors were cast, however, the reconstruction of the West Front had not been authorized. Amateis unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Woods to place the doors in the existing West Front entrance anyway, arguing that when the reconstruction eventually took place the doors could easily be taken down and later reinstalled. (In fact, the reconstruction was never authorized.) The doors were instead displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1910 to 1914. They were lent for display to the Smithsonian Institution in February 1914 and exhibited at the new National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History) until 1967. The doors were then returned to the Congress and placed in storage until 1972, when they were installed in their current location across from the Bulfinch stairway near the Memorial Door entrance. The first professional conservation of the doors was performed in February 2013. Dust, degraded coatings, and hand oils from people touching the doors were removed; the original patina color was restored; and a protective wax coating was applied.

Description of Subjects

Transom

America is seated in a chariot drawn by two lions led by a child, symbolizing the superiority of intellect over brute strength. Surrounding America are figural representations of education, architecture, painting, literature, music, sculpture, commerce, mining, and industry. The words “Apotheosis of America” appear in a banner below. Statuettes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson flanking the transom, and in the four corners are portrait medallions of George Peabody, financier of educational institutions; philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson; educator Horace Mann; and philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Below the center of the transom, above the valves, appears an American eagle clutching arrows and the shield of the United States.

Left Valve

Jurisprudence

The scene depicts Chief Justice John Marshall, located at the center, presiding over a meeting of the Supreme Court that decided the case of Marbury v. Madison. A bust of George Washington appears directly above Marshall. Amateis took this case of the supremacy of the judicial over the executive power as the highest expression of jurisprudence. Statuettes of Daniel Webster and James Madison flank the scene, and the subjects of the portrait medallions are lawyer Rufus Choate; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney; and patriot Patrick Henry.

Science

This scene depicts an imaginary gathering of scientific thinkers throughout history. The statuettes represent chemist Oliver W. Gibbs and physicist Joseph Henry. Geologist James D. Dana; astronomer Simon Newcomb; Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone; and Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, are represented in the medallions. Amateis signed the doors “L. Amateis Wash D.C.” at the bottom of this panel.

Fine Arts

In the Fine Arts panel are historic figures from literature and music; among them are the blind poet

Homer, with his guide; Shakespeare; and Beethoven. Above them is the flying figure of Genius. Statuettes depict writer Edgar Allen Poe and William Thornton, the first architect of the U.S. Capitol. Portrait painter Gilbert Stuart and sculptor Henry Kirke Brown are represented in the medallions.

Mining

Figures work in a mine, swinging pick axes and hammers and erecting timbers. The statuettes flanking the scene represent James W. Marshall, discoverer of gold in California; and Alexander L. Holley, mining engineer. Below are medallions of engineer E.B. Case; industrialist Abram Hewitt; and geologist Clarence King.

Right Valve

Agriculture

This scene depicts the cultivation of land and the harvesting of crops. Details in the background include the figure carrying wheat and the waterwheel of a mill, where grain is processed. The statuettes depict Samuel G. Morton, physician and ethnologist; and James Wilson, agriculturist and Secretary of Agriculture. Medallions are of Senator Justin S. Morrill and agricultural chemists John Pitkin Norton and Benjamin Bussey.

Iron and Electricity

In this panel, figures are shown operating machinery and studying plans. The statuettes are of philanthropist Peter Cooper; and physicist Henry A. Rowland. The medallions show Matthias W. Baldwin, an inventor and manufacturer of locomotives, and Thomas A. Edison, inventor.

Engineering

Workers are shown laying railroad tracks, and in the background stands a feat of engineering, an iron bridge. The statuettes are James B. Eads, builder of the St. Louis Railroad; and engineer Thomas L. Casey. The medallions are of John A. Roebling, engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge; and Edwin A. Stevens, of transcontinental railroad fame.

Naval Architecture and Commerce

A figure symbolizing Naval Architecture shows Commerce and Agriculture the places on a globe where they can sell their wares. The globe is held by a youth. A sailor holds a flag surmounted by a liberty cap, significant of an open-door policy. Statuettes portray Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, and John Ericsson, designer of the ironclad ship Monitor. Medallions depict Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin; Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine; John C. Fremont, the “Pathfinder”; Cyrus W. Field, financier of the Atlantic Cable; and naval constructor John Lenthall.

Louis Amateis (1855-1913)

Louis Amateis was born on December 13, 1855, in Turin, Italy, where he studied architecture at the Institute of Technology and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, receiving a gold medal from the latter for his work. He next studied art in Paris and Milan and in 1882 emigrated to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen. He first lived in New York City, where he designed some architectural sculpture, most often for the firm McKim, Mead, and White.

After marrying in 1889, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he founded the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at Columbian University. Amateis’s other sculptures include a portrait bust of President Chester A. Arthur, architectural sculpture for the National Cathedral School, and monuments to the Texas Revolution. He kept a studio in West Falls Church, Virginia, and he died in that city on March 16, 1913.

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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'>reflecting pool.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

Thomas Edison

This statue of Thomas Edison was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Ohio in 2016. Edison’s statue replaced one of William Allen, which the state donated to the Collection in 1887.

•Artist: Alan Cottrill

•Material: Bronze

•State: Given by Ohio in 2016

•Location: National Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol

Born on February 11, 1847, to a middle-class family in Ohio, Thomas Alva Edison became one of the world’s most celebrated and prolific inventors, amassing over a thousand patents during his lifetime. As an entrepreneur and businessman, he used mass-production techniques to ensure that his inventions spread around the world, bringing electric power and light, motion pictures, and sound recordings to millions.

Throughout his childhood, Edison was fascinated with scientific experiments. Between the ages of 16 and 20, while working as a telegraph operator, he decided to become an inventor. He received his first patent, for an electric vote recorder, in 1869. Subsequent profitable successes with stockticker and telegraph equipment allowed him to create a new type of facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1876. Consisting of a main laboratory, glass house, carpentry and machine shops, smithy, and other facilities, it was the precursor of the modern industrial research and development (R & D) laboratory; at its peak in the 1880s, it would employ as many as 60 experimenters, chemists, machinists, engineers, draftsmen, and support staff.

The first major invention at the facility was a carbon microphone that improved the audibility of telephone transmissions. Another project under way at the time was directed toward improving the telegraph repeater, which recorded and replayed messages composed of dots and dashes. Inspired to combine elements of the telephone with the repeater, Edison in 1877 recorded sound as indentations—first on paraffin-coated paper, then on wax cylinders, and finally on tinfoil. When the indentations were moved beneath a stylus, the sounds were reproduced. The phonograph brought Edison worldwide fame, and the press began to refer to him as a “wizard”; it would also remain his personal favorite of all his inventions.

In 1878, Edison began work on what would be his most far-reaching accomplishment: the largescale commercial distribution of electric light and power. Although electric light bulbs had existed since 1802, none had been long lasting or economical enough for widespread practical use. Edison’s new idea was to use a high-resistance filament rather than the low-resistance ones favored by other inventors, and in 1879, after thousands of experiments, his workshop produced a bulb that burned for 40 hours. Further experimentation with filament materials yielded one that would burn for a thousand. In 1887, Edison moved his “invention factory” from Menlo Park to a new, larger facility in West Orange, New Jersey. A major effort there concentrated on what Edison described as “an instrument which does for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear, which is the recording and reproduction of things in motion”; his Kinetograph and Kinetoscope would open the way for today’s film industry. Other work in the following decades included phonograph improvements, dictating machines, a fluoroscope, and the nickel-iron storage battery, a safety lamp for miners, and processes for manufacturing various chemicals. In the last years of his life he tried to develop a process for producing rubber from native American plant material.

Edison died of complications from diabetes on October 18, 1931, at his home in West Orange, and his remains are buried behind the home.

Edison received numerous awards during and after his lifetime for his inventions and his service to his nation and humanity. The first, in 1881, was a designation by the French Republic as an Officer of the Legion of Honor. It was followed by Italy’s Matteucci Medal for physics in 1887 and election to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1890. In addition to other international and professional awards, he was honored in 1920 with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his work on defensive weapons during the first World War, and in 1928 he received the Congressional Gold Medal. Fittingly, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) have named high awards after Edison.

The Statue

In this statue, sculptor Alan Cottrill depicts a middle-aged Edison wearing a typical work suit, standing in a relaxed position with a bent right knee, and holding aloft the invention for which he is most widely celebrated—the electric light bulb. Assuming his characteristic stance with his left hand in his pocket, he raises the inverted cone-shaped bulb known as the Edison light bulb in his right hand; a similar bulb appears in a 1911 photograph of Edison. The pose evokes the Statue of Liberty. Above all, Cottrill sought to capture Edison’s “energy and sense of accomplishment,” aiming to convey his tireless activity. The bronze statue, inscribed EDISON on its self-base, stands on a speckled mahogany-colored granite pedestal with the simple inscription OHIO.

The Sculptor

Alan Cottrill was born in 1952 and raised in the Appalachian region of Ohio. In 1990 he discovered his affinity for working in clay, so he sold his business interests and dedicated himself to sculpture, studying in New York City at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. He also studied Human Anatomy at Columbia Medical Center and took numerous trips to Europe to study the world’s greatest sculptures in person.

In 1996 he and lifelong friend Charles Leasure founded the Coopermill Bronzeworks casting foundry in Zanesville, Ohio. To date they have cast well over 500 of Cottrill’s statues and hundreds of other sculptors’ works. Cottrill’s works are displayed throughout the nation at libraries, universities, memorial sites, and other venues. Among his subjects are Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt; football coach Woody Hayes; Olympian Jesse Owens; Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton; the Marquis de Lafayette; and figures honoring military personnel and war dogs, coal miners, firefighters, and Native Americans.

Justice and History

•By Thomas Crawford (1813/1814-1857)

•Marble, Modeled 1855-1856, Carved ca. 1858-1860

•Overall Measurement

oHeight: 46 inches (116.8 cm)

oWidth: 134 inches (340.4 cm)

oDepth: 26 inches (66 cm)

•Unsigned

•Credit Line: U.S. Senate Collection

•Cat. no. 25.00002.000

When the Capitol building was transformed by the grand architectural extension and new dome designed by Thomas U. Walter in the 1850s, only Constantino Brumidi was awarded more important commissions for its decoration than Thomas Crawford. Crawford was contracted to provide an enormous amount of sculpture for the building: bronze doors for the eastern entrances to the House and Senate wings, the marble pediment sculpture for the Senate wing and a statuary group for the main Senate entrance, and, ultimately, the pinnacle of the entire Capitol, the bronze Statue of Freedom atop the dome. (For his many contributions to the Capitol, Crawford is memorialized with a bust, displayed in the Senate wing.)

Crawford had been apprenticed to a wood carver at the age of 14. By about 1832, he was employed by the prominent New York stone-cutting firm operated by John Frazee and Robert Launitz. There he was assigned the customary work on gravestones and mantelpieces and assisted in the execution of portrait busts. Crawford also enhanced his artistic development by sketching casts from the collection of the National Academy of Design. In 1835 he moved to Rome and became the first American sculptor to settle there permanently. Once in Rome, he gravitated quickly to the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen, perhaps the most famous sculptor of his day. Thorvaldsen’s neoclassicism was the most important influence on Crawford. In 1839 Crawford gained widespread acclaim for his statue Orpheus, which led to numerous commissions for allegorical and mythological figures.

While construction of the Capitol extension was still under way, Montgomery Meigs, superintendent of the Capitol extension, was busily attending to the decorative commissions as well. In August 1853 he wrote to Crawford in Florence, principally about the pediment and doorway on the east front of the new Senate. “I do not see why,” he claimed, “a Republic so much richer than the Athenian should not rival the Parthenon in the front of its first public edifice.” Crawford responded at the end of October, describing his ideas for the pediment and for the two allegorical figures over the doorway—Justice and Liberty—and concluding, “My price for the whole of them is $20,000.” The offer was approved by Jefferson Davis, secretary of war, and accepted by Meigs in a letter of November 30, 1853. In the initial design, Liberty wore a pileus, the cap worn by freed slaves in ancient Rome, and Justice held a bundle of rods and an ax, Roman symbols of authority. Jefferson Davis was satisfied with the overall design, but he objected to the symbolic Roman elements, which he felt were inappropriate iconography for America. Both Meigs and Davis asked Crawford to change some of the details but to maintain the basic composition. Crawford agreed. “I have changed the Liberty into a figure of History (and thus avid [sic] the ‘cap’),” he responded to Meigs. In July 1860, Crawford was paid the agreed-upon price of $3,000 for “modelling in plaster and cutting in marble Statues of ‘Justice and History’ including marble.”

Of all the sculptural projects awarded to Crawford for the new extension, Justice and History seems to have been almost an afterthought. First conceived (by Meigs) as a relief sculpture, it became not only the subject of disagreement over the symbolic attributes but also part of an ongoing gentlemanly controversy over whether it and the other sculptures should be carved (or, if bronze, cast) in Europe or America. In addition, it was continuously postponed in favor of larger, clearly more significant projects. The planned placement of the figures was not very advantageous. Perched on a cap supported by massive brackets above the bronze door of the Senate wing, east portico, with their heads overlapping the windowsill behind them, they lacked a proper stage. Their back-to-back reclining position suggested a placement within a small tympanum, but no such framing element was provided.

Allegorical figures were certainly not new in American sculpture, and neoclassicism was the favored “high” style among academically trained European and American sculptors. For many viewers, the classical style embodied a rigorous intellectual and moral integrity that suited the ideals of the new republic. But there was in the young country only a small, classically educated audience for the allegorical content. If simple enough, it was acceptable, but sometimes allegory failed, as with the notoriously negative public reaction to Horatio Greenough’s colossal half-nude statue of George Washington, which prompted Meigs to caution Crawford in a 1853 letter:

Permit me to say that the sculpture sent here by our artists is not altogether adapted to the taste of our people. We are not able to appreciate too refined and intricate allegorical representations, and while the naked Washington of Greenough is the theme of admiration to the few scholars, it is unsparingly denounced by the less refined multitude. Cannot sculpture be so designed as to please both? In this would be the triumph of the artist whose works should appeal not to a class but to mankind.

Clearly this is not a condescending attitude, for Meigs was determined that the Capitol and its decoration should be admired by the “less refined multitude.” He gave Constantino Brumidi the painter more leeway in the matter of allegory than he was willing to allow Crawford the sculptor, perhaps because sculpture principally adorned the exterior of the building and thus was seen by more people. It was the large, multi-figure pediment that most preoccupied both Meigs and Crawford in this discussion, and Crawford proved quite amenable to satisfying Meigs’s concerns: “I fully agree with you regarding the necessity of producing a work intelligible to our entire population. The darkness of allegory must give place to common sense.” What applied to the pediment applied as well to Justice and History. The simplified allegories of book, globe, scales, and scroll, certainly, were clear to the multitude and easily appreciated.

The completion of Justice and History was long delayed. A year after the contract was concluded, Crawford had done no more than send sketches to Washington, and on December 13, 1854, he asked Meigs’s permission to postpone modeling them until the dimensions of the doorway had been firmly decided. On June 10, 1855, he wrote that he would “immediately proceed with the group.” By November, the figures were apparently in process, though not complete, and on May 21, 1856, he reported to Meigs that the models were entirely finished. Now he was awaiting approval or rejection of his request to have them carved in marble in Italy, where he could supervise the production. In a subsequent letter to Meigs, Crawford complained of a problem with his left eye. This illness, a tumor, rapidly worsened, and over the next months, although he was able to do some finishing work on his colossal model of Freedom for the Capitol dome, it was apparent that Crawford’s ability to sculpt was seriously affected.

A letter of April 1, 1857, from the ailing artist to Meigs, asked for an advance in order to buy the marble to carve the figures. Meigs, who “had supposed from [Crawford’s] former letters that they were underway,” nonetheless agreed to make the funds available. By then the cancer had spread to Crawford’s brain and, despite medical treatment in Paris and London, he died on October 10, 1857. Neither Justice nor History had been carved. Crawford had always urged Meigs to allow the carving of his marbles and the casting of his bronzes to be done in Rome. Meigs, on the other hand, had wanted them to be executed in the United States, to give native carvers and casters much-needed experience. Meigs prevailed for all of Crawford’s works but Justice and History.

Crawford’s widow, Louisa Crawford, who took over her husband’s business affairs after his death, asked Meigs to allow Justice and History to be carved from Carrara marble in Italy, in part because “there are no duplicates cast, and … if lost they are irretrievably gone.” Meigs relented, and the marbles were made in Italy between 1858 and 1860. The two pieces were shipped to the United States in 1860 and were kept in the former Hall of the House of Representatives until the exterior of the U.S. Capitol’s Senate extension was ready to receive it. It was installed three years later above the Senate entrance on the east front of the Capitol.

Meigs’s acquiescence on the carving location proved unfortunate, for of Crawford’s marble sculptures at the Capitol, only Justice and History deteriorated severely, eroded by the elements. By the mid-20th century, the head of History and the face of Justice were nearly gone, and the figures were severely flaked and cracked. In 1974 they were removed and heavily restored with plaster to its appearance as documented in early photographs and then used as a model for the carving of a new marble replica; Francesco Tonelli of the Vermont Marble Company carved copies of the originals. Tonelli’s marble reproductions were installed in the original location above the Senate doorway later in 1774, and the repaired Justice and History was placed on display inside the Capitol in the ground floor extension to the Old Senate Wing outside the Old Supreme Court Vestibule.

More on Justice and History

In September 1850 Congress appropriated $100,000 for expansion of the United States Capitol. Philadelphia architect Thomas U. Walter was selected to design and construct the addition. In 1853 the project was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. While Walter remained as architect, Montgomery C. Meigs, a 36-year-old captain in the Corps of Engineers, was named superintendent of the Capitol extension and placed in charge of the construction. Meigs believed that the extension should be decorated in a highly elaborate style to rival the great buildings of Europe, and he and Davis worked together to make the Capitol a showcase of the arts.

As part of that effort, Meigs asked artists Hiram Powers and Thomas Crawford to submit designs for sculpture for the new pediments planned for the Senate and House extensions and for the areas above the adjoining doorways. Crawford submitted a series of designs for the projects. For the Senate doorway, he proposed a grouping of two reclining female figures: Justice and Liberty. He received the commission, and in his final drawing he changed Liberty to History.

In Crawford’s Justice and History, Justice, the figure to the right, is half reclining and heavily draped like a Roman matron at a banquet. She supports a large tome with the words “Justice, Law, Order” and rests her right elbow on the visible portion of a globe draped with the stars and stripes. Her right hand holds the scales of justice, which lie loosely on the edge of the base, their chains slack. The History figure has long flowing hair crowned with a laurel wreath. She holds an open scroll, with the top draped over a plinth, on which the words “History July 1776” are inscribed. The overall length of the sculpture is 11 feet 2 inches.

The Sculptor

Thomas Crawford (1814-1857), also created the Statue of Freedom atop the dome, the designs of the House and Senate bronze doors, and the “Progress of Civilization” pediment sculpture over the east entrance to the Senate wing.

US Capitol Complex North at Louisiana Avenue and D Street, NW, Washington DC on Monday afternoon, 18 January 2021 by Elvert Barnes Photography

US CAPITOL POLICE

Elvert Barnes COVID 19 Pandemic Part 5 New Year 2021 docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/CV19NewYear2021

Elvert Barnes Monday afternoon, 18 January 2021 In Preparation of 59th Presidential Inauguration US Capitol Complex docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/18January2021

Justice and History

•By Thomas Crawford (1813/1814-1857)

•Marble, Modeled 1855-1856, Carved ca. 1858-1860

•Overall Measurement

oHeight: 46 inches (116.8 cm)

oWidth: 134 inches (340.4 cm)

oDepth: 26 inches (66 cm)

•Unsigned

•Credit Line: U.S. Senate Collection

•Cat. no. 25.00002.000

When the Capitol building was transformed by the grand architectural extension and new dome designed by Thomas U. Walter in the 1850s, only Constantino Brumidi was awarded more important commissions for its decoration than Thomas Crawford. Crawford was contracted to provide an enormous amount of sculpture for the building: bronze doors for the eastern entrances to the House and Senate wings, the marble pediment sculpture for the Senate wing and a statuary group for the main Senate entrance, and, ultimately, the pinnacle of the entire Capitol, the bronze Statue of Freedom atop the dome. (For his many contributions to the Capitol, Crawford is memorialized with a bust, displayed in the Senate wing.)

Crawford had been apprenticed to a wood carver at the age of 14. By about 1832, he was employed by the prominent New York stone-cutting firm operated by John Frazee and Robert Launitz. There he was assigned the customary work on gravestones and mantelpieces and assisted in the execution of portrait busts. Crawford also enhanced his artistic development by sketching casts from the collection of the National Academy of Design. In 1835 he moved to Rome and became the first American sculptor to settle there permanently. Once in Rome, he gravitated quickly to the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen, perhaps the most famous sculptor of his day. Thorvaldsen’s neoclassicism was the most important influence on Crawford. In 1839 Crawford gained widespread acclaim for his statue Orpheus, which led to numerous commissions for allegorical and mythological figures.

While construction of the Capitol extension was still under way, Montgomery Meigs, superintendent of the Capitol extension, was busily attending to the decorative commissions as well. In August 1853 he wrote to Crawford in Florence, principally about the pediment and doorway on the east front of the new Senate. “I do not see why,” he claimed, “a Republic so much richer than the Athenian should not rival the Parthenon in the front of its first public edifice.” Crawford responded at the end of October, describing his ideas for the pediment and for the two allegorical figures over the doorway—Justice and Liberty—and concluding, “My price for the whole of them is $20,000.” The offer was approved by Jefferson Davis, secretary of war, and accepted by Meigs in a letter of November 30, 1853. In the initial design, Liberty wore a pileus, the cap worn by freed slaves in ancient Rome, and Justice held a bundle of rods and an ax, Roman symbols of authority. Jefferson Davis was satisfied with the overall design, but he objected to the symbolic Roman elements, which he felt were inappropriate iconography for America. Both Meigs and Davis asked Crawford to change some of the details but to maintain the basic composition. Crawford agreed. “I have changed the Liberty into a figure of History (and thus avid [sic] the ‘cap’),” he responded to Meigs. In July 1860, Crawford was paid the agreed-upon price of $3,000 for “modelling in plaster and cutting in marble Statues of ‘Justice and History’ including marble.”

Of all the sculptural projects awarded to Crawford for the new extension, Justice and History seems to have been almost an afterthought. First conceived (by Meigs) as a relief sculpture, it became not only the subject of disagreement over the symbolic attributes but also part of an ongoing gentlemanly controversy over whether it and the other sculptures should be carved (or, if bronze, cast) in Europe or America. In addition, it was continuously postponed in favor of larger, clearly more significant projects. The planned placement of the figures was not very advantageous. Perched on a cap supported by massive brackets above the bronze door of the Senate wing, east portico, with their heads overlapping the windowsill behind them, they lacked a proper stage. Their back-to-back reclining position suggested a placement within a small tympanum, but no such framing element was provided.

Allegorical figures were certainly not new in American sculpture, and neoclassicism was the favored “high” style among academically trained European and American sculptors. For many viewers, the classical style embodied a rigorous intellectual and moral integrity that suited the ideals of the new republic. But there was in the young country only a small, classically educated audience for the allegorical content. If simple enough, it was acceptable, but sometimes allegory failed, as with the notoriously negative public reaction to Horatio Greenough’s colossal half-nude statue of George Washington, which prompted Meigs to caution Crawford in a 1853 letter:

Permit me to say that the sculpture sent here by our artists is not altogether adapted to the taste of our people. We are not able to appreciate too refined and intricate allegorical representations, and while the naked Washington of Greenough is the theme of admiration to the few scholars, it is unsparingly denounced by the less refined multitude. Cannot sculpture be so designed as to please both? In this would be the triumph of the artist whose works should appeal not to a class but to mankind.

Clearly this is not a condescending attitude, for Meigs was determined that the Capitol and its decoration should be admired by the “less refined multitude.” He gave Constantino Brumidi the painter more leeway in the matter of allegory than he was willing to allow Crawford the sculptor, perhaps because sculpture principally adorned the exterior of the building and thus was seen by more people. It was the large, multi-figure pediment that most preoccupied both Meigs and Crawford in this discussion, and Crawford proved quite amenable to satisfying Meigs’s concerns: “I fully agree with you regarding the necessity of producing a work intelligible to our entire population. The darkness of allegory must give place to common sense.” What applied to the pediment applied as well to Justice and History. The simplified allegories of book, globe, scales, and scroll, certainly, were clear to the multitude and easily appreciated.

The completion of Justice and History was long delayed. A year after the contract was concluded, Crawford had done no more than send sketches to Washington, and on December 13, 1854, he asked Meigs’s permission to postpone modeling them until the dimensions of the doorway had been firmly decided. On June 10, 1855, he wrote that he would “immediately proceed with the group.” By November, the figures were apparently in process, though not complete, and on May 21, 1856, he reported to Meigs that the models were entirely finished. Now he was awaiting approval or rejection of his request to have them carved in marble in Italy, where he could supervise the production. In a subsequent letter to Meigs, Crawford complained of a problem with his left eye. This illness, a tumor, rapidly worsened, and over the next months, although he was able to do some finishing work on his colossal model of Freedom for the Capitol dome, it was apparent that Crawford’s ability to sculpt was seriously affected.

A letter of April 1, 1857, from the ailing artist to Meigs, asked for an advance in order to buy the marble to carve the figures. Meigs, who “had supposed from [Crawford’s] former letters that they were underway,” nonetheless agreed to make the funds available. By then the cancer had spread to Crawford’s brain and, despite medical treatment in Paris and London, he died on October 10, 1857. Neither Justice nor History had been carved. Crawford had always urged Meigs to allow the carving of his marbles and the casting of his bronzes to be done in Rome. Meigs, on the other hand, had wanted them to be executed in the United States, to give native carvers and casters much-needed experience. Meigs prevailed for all of Crawford’s works but Justice and History.

Crawford’s widow, Louisa Crawford, who took over her husband’s business affairs after his death, asked Meigs to allow Justice and History to be carved from Carrara marble in Italy, in part because “there are no duplicates cast, and … if lost they are irretrievably gone.” Meigs relented, and the marbles were made in Italy between 1858 and 1860. The two pieces were shipped to the United States in 1860 and were kept in the former Hall of the House of Representatives until the exterior of the U.S. Capitol’s Senate extension was ready to receive it. It was installed three years later above the Senate entrance on the east front of the Capitol.

Meigs’s acquiescence on the carving location proved unfortunate, for of Crawford’s marble sculptures at the Capitol, only Justice and History deteriorated severely, eroded by the elements. By the mid-20th century, the head of History and the face of Justice were nearly gone, and the figures were severely flaked and cracked. In 1974 they were removed and heavily restored with plaster to its appearance as documented in early photographs and then used as a model for the carving of a new marble replica; Francesco Tonelli of the Vermont Marble Company carved copies of the originals. Tonelli’s marble reproductions were installed in the original location above the Senate doorway later in 1774, and the repaired Justice and History was placed on display inside the Capitol in the ground floor extension to the Old Senate Wing outside the Old Supreme Court Vestibule.

More on Justice and History

In September 1850 Congress appropriated $100,000 for expansion of the United States Capitol. Philadelphia architect Thomas U. Walter was selected to design and construct the addition. In 1853 the project was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. While Walter remained as architect, Montgomery C. Meigs, a 36-year-old captain in the Corps of Engineers, was named superintendent of the Capitol extension and placed in charge of the construction. Meigs believed that the extension should be decorated in a highly elaborate style to rival the great buildings of Europe, and he and Davis worked together to make the Capitol a showcase of the arts.

As part of that effort, Meigs asked artists Hiram Powers and Thomas Crawford to submit designs for sculpture for the new pediments planned for the Senate and House extensions and for the areas above the adjoining doorways. Crawford submitted a series of designs for the projects. For the Senate doorway, he proposed a grouping of two reclining female figures: Justice and Liberty. He received the commission, and in his final drawing he changed Liberty to History.

In Crawford’s Justice and History, Justice, the figure to the right, is half reclining and heavily draped like a Roman matron at a banquet. She supports a large tome with the words “Justice, Law, Order” and rests her right elbow on the visible portion of a globe draped with the stars and stripes. Her right hand holds the scales of justice, which lie loosely on the edge of the base, their chains slack. The History figure has long flowing hair crowned with a laurel wreath. She holds an open scroll, with the top draped over a plinth, on which the words “History July 1776” are inscribed. The overall length of the sculpture is 11 feet 2 inches.

The Sculptor

Thomas Crawford (1814-1857), also created the Statue of Freedom atop the dome, the designs of the House and Senate bronze doors, and the “Progress of Civilization” pediment sculpture over the east entrance to the Senate wing.

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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'>reflecting pool.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

…for a democracy that has clearly hit skids over the past 100 days

Justice and History

•By Thomas Crawford (1813/1814-1857)

•Marble, Modeled 1855-1856, Carved ca. 1858-1860

•Overall Measurement

oHeight: 46 inches (116.8 cm)

oWidth: 134 inches (340.4 cm)

oDepth: 26 inches (66 cm)

•Unsigned

•Credit Line: U.S. Senate Collection

•Cat. no. 25.00002.000

When the Capitol building was transformed by the grand architectural extension and new dome designed by Thomas U. Walter in the 1850s, only Constantino Brumidi was awarded more important commissions for its decoration than Thomas Crawford. Crawford was contracted to provide an enormous amount of sculpture for the building: bronze doors for the eastern entrances to the House and Senate wings, the marble pediment sculpture for the Senate wing and a statuary group for the main Senate entrance, and, ultimately, the pinnacle of the entire Capitol, the bronze Statue of Freedom atop the dome. (For his many contributions to the Capitol, Crawford is memorialized with a bust, displayed in the Senate wing.)

Crawford had been apprenticed to a wood carver at the age of 14. By about 1832, he was employed by the prominent New York stone-cutting firm operated by John Frazee and Robert Launitz. There he was assigned the customary work on gravestones and mantelpieces and assisted in the execution of portrait busts. Crawford also enhanced his artistic development by sketching casts from the collection of the National Academy of Design. In 1835 he moved to Rome and became the first American sculptor to settle there permanently. Once in Rome, he gravitated quickly to the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen, perhaps the most famous sculptor of his day. Thorvaldsen’s neoclassicism was the most important influence on Crawford. In 1839 Crawford gained widespread acclaim for his statue Orpheus, which led to numerous commissions for allegorical and mythological figures.

While construction of the Capitol extension was still under way, Montgomery Meigs, superintendent of the Capitol extension, was busily attending to the decorative commissions as well. In August 1853 he wrote to Crawford in Florence, principally about the pediment and doorway on the east front of the new Senate. “I do not see why,” he claimed, “a Republic so much richer than the Athenian should not rival the Parthenon in the front of its first public edifice.” Crawford responded at the end of October, describing his ideas for the pediment and for the two allegorical figures over the doorway—Justice and Liberty—and concluding, “My price for the whole of them is $20,000.” The offer was approved by Jefferson Davis, secretary of war, and accepted by Meigs in a letter of November 30, 1853. In the initial design, Liberty wore a pileus, the cap worn by freed slaves in ancient Rome, and Justice held a bundle of rods and an ax, Roman symbols of authority. Jefferson Davis was satisfied with the overall design, but he objected to the symbolic Roman elements, which he felt were inappropriate iconography for America. Both Meigs and Davis asked Crawford to change some of the details but to maintain the basic composition. Crawford agreed. “I have changed the Liberty into a figure of History (and thus avid [sic] the ‘cap’),” he responded to Meigs. In July 1860, Crawford was paid the agreed-upon price of $3,000 for “modelling in plaster and cutting in marble Statues of ‘Justice and History’ including marble.”

Of all the sculptural projects awarded to Crawford for the new extension, Justice and History seems to have been almost an afterthought. First conceived (by Meigs) as a relief sculpture, it became not only the subject of disagreement over the symbolic attributes but also part of an ongoing gentlemanly controversy over whether it and the other sculptures should be carved (or, if bronze, cast) in Europe or America. In addition, it was continuously postponed in favor of larger, clearly more significant projects. The planned placement of the figures was not very advantageous. Perched on a cap supported by massive brackets above the bronze door of the Senate wing, east portico, with their heads overlapping the windowsill behind them, they lacked a proper stage. Their back-to-back reclining position suggested a placement within a small tympanum, but no such framing element was provided.

Allegorical figures were certainly not new in American sculpture, and neoclassicism was the favored “high” style among academically trained European and American sculptors. For many viewers, the classical style embodied a rigorous intellectual and moral integrity that suited the ideals of the new republic. But there was in the young country only a small, classically educated audience for the allegorical content. If simple enough, it was acceptable, but sometimes allegory failed, as with the notoriously negative public reaction to Horatio Greenough’s colossal half-nude statue of George Washington, which prompted Meigs to caution Crawford in a 1853 letter:

Permit me to say that the sculpture sent here by our artists is not altogether adapted to the taste of our people. We are not able to appreciate too refined and intricate allegorical representations, and while the naked Washington of Greenough is the theme of admiration to the few scholars, it is unsparingly denounced by the less refined multitude. Cannot sculpture be so designed as to please both? In this would be the triumph of the artist whose works should appeal not to a class but to mankind.

Clearly this is not a condescending attitude, for Meigs was determined that the Capitol and its decoration should be admired by the “less refined multitude.” He gave Constantino Brumidi the painter more leeway in the matter of allegory than he was willing to allow Crawford the sculptor, perhaps because sculpture principally adorned the exterior of the building and thus was seen by more people. It was the large, multi-figure pediment that most preoccupied both Meigs and Crawford in this discussion, and Crawford proved quite amenable to satisfying Meigs’s concerns: “I fully agree with you regarding the necessity of producing a work intelligible to our entire population. The darkness of allegory must give place to common sense.” What applied to the pediment applied as well to Justice and History. The simplified allegories of book, globe, scales, and scroll, certainly, were clear to the multitude and easily appreciated.

The completion of Justice and History was long delayed. A year after the contract was concluded, Crawford had done no more than send sketches to Washington, and on December 13, 1854, he asked Meigs’s permission to postpone modeling them until the dimensions of the doorway had been firmly decided. On June 10, 1855, he wrote that he would “immediately proceed with the group.” By November, the figures were apparently in process, though not complete, and on May 21, 1856, he reported to Meigs that the models were entirely finished. Now he was awaiting approval or rejection of his request to have them carved in marble in Italy, where he could supervise the production. In a subsequent letter to Meigs, Crawford complained of a problem with his left eye. This illness, a tumor, rapidly worsened, and over the next months, although he was able to do some finishing work on his colossal model of Freedom for the Capitol dome, it was apparent that Crawford’s ability to sculpt was seriously affected.

A letter of April 1, 1857, from the ailing artist to Meigs, asked for an advance in order to buy the marble to carve the figures. Meigs, who “had supposed from [Crawford’s] former letters that they were underway,” nonetheless agreed to make the funds available. By then the cancer had spread to Crawford’s brain and, despite medical treatment in Paris and London, he died on October 10, 1857. Neither Justice nor History had been carved. Crawford had always urged Meigs to allow the carving of his marbles and the casting of his bronzes to be done in Rome. Meigs, on the other hand, had wanted them to be executed in the United States, to give native carvers and casters much-needed experience. Meigs prevailed for all of Crawford’s works but Justice and History.

Crawford’s widow, Louisa Crawford, who took over her husband’s business affairs after his death, asked Meigs to allow Justice and History to be carved from Carrara marble in Italy, in part because “there are no duplicates cast, and … if lost they are irretrievably gone.” Meigs relented, and the marbles were made in Italy between 1858 and 1860. The two pieces were shipped to the United States in 1860 and were kept in the former Hall of the House of Representatives until the exterior of the U.S. Capitol’s Senate extension was ready to receive it. It was installed three years later above the Senate entrance on the east front of the Capitol.

Meigs’s acquiescence on the carving location proved unfortunate, for of Crawford’s marble sculptures at the Capitol, only Justice and History deteriorated severely, eroded by the elements. By the mid-20th century, the head of History and the face of Justice were nearly gone, and the figures were severely flaked and cracked. In 1974 they were removed and heavily restored with plaster to its appearance as documented in early photographs and then used as a model for the carving of a new marble replica; Francesco Tonelli of the Vermont Marble Company carved copies of the originals. Tonelli’s marble reproductions were installed in the original location above the Senate doorway later in 1774, and the repaired Justice and History was placed on display inside the Capitol in the ground floor extension to the Old Senate Wing outside the Old Supreme Court Vestibule.

More on Justice and History

In September 1850 Congress appropriated $100,000 for expansion of the United States Capitol. Philadelphia architect Thomas U. Walter was selected to design and construct the addition. In 1853 the project was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. While Walter remained as architect, Montgomery C. Meigs, a 36-year-old captain in the Corps of Engineers, was named superintendent of the Capitol extension and placed in charge of the construction. Meigs believed that the extension should be decorated in a highly elaborate style to rival the great buildings of Europe, and he and Davis worked together to make the Capitol a showcase of the arts.

As part of that effort, Meigs asked artists Hiram Powers and Thomas Crawford to submit designs for sculpture for the new pediments planned for the Senate and House extensions and for the areas above the adjoining doorways. Crawford submitted a series of designs for the projects. For the Senate doorway, he proposed a grouping of two reclining female figures: Justice and Liberty. He received the commission, and in his final drawing he changed Liberty to History.

In Crawford’s Justice and History, Justice, the figure to the right, is half reclining and heavily draped like a Roman matron at a banquet. She supports a large tome with the words “Justice, Law, Order” and rests her right elbow on the visible portion of a globe draped with the stars and stripes. Her right hand holds the scales of justice, which lie loosely on the edge of the base, their chains slack. The History figure has long flowing hair crowned with a laurel wreath. She holds an open scroll, with the top draped over a plinth, on which the words “History July 1776” are inscribed. The overall length of the sculpture is 11 feet 2 inches.

The Sculptor

Thomas Crawford (1814-1857), also created the Statue of Freedom atop the dome, the designs of the House and Senate bronze doors, and the “Progress of Civilization” pediment sculpture over the east entrance to the Senate wing.

Traffic creates light trails and motion blurs leading to the US Capitol Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

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Marble busts of the earliest chief justices have been returned to their original locations in the room. In order of service, those represented are: John Jay (1789-1795), John Rutledge (1795), Oliver Ellsworth (1796-1800), and John Marshall (1801-1835).

Gallery Wall Clock

•Clock, Gallery Wall

•by Simon Willard

•Mahogany dial, gilded frame, metal, paint, 1837

•Overall measurement

oHeight: 51 inches (129.54 cm)

oWidth: 37 inches (93.98 cm)

oDepth: 5 inches (12.7 cm)

•Inscription (etched on the exterior of the brass movement): Made by Simon / Willard in his 85th / year 1837 / Roxbury July / the 4 [?]; and (engraved on the brass pendulum face) MADE BY / SIMON WILLARD, / in the 85th year of his age. / BOSTON, JULY, 1837.

•Cat. no. 54.00002.000

This clock is located in the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Senate wing of the Capitol.

Preserving Punctuality: The Old Supreme Court Clock

On the morning of March 31, 2009, time stopped in the Old Supreme Court Chamber. The minute hand of the 1837 Simon Willard gallery clock was found lying on the mantel below the clock, broken in two pieces where an old repair had given way. Fortunately, plans for conservation treatment of the clock were underway in the Office of Senate Curator, because a condition assessment of the Senate’s historic clocks done the previous year indicated its movement was in urgent need of repair. A conservator was quickly enlisted to conserve the clock.

The conservator arrived at the Senate on May 29 to remove the clock’s movement and transport it to his workshop in Massachusetts. First, he carefully removed the clock’s dial, revealing the beautifully made brass movement. The gallery or banjo style of clock was invented by Simon Willard in the late 18th century as an alternative to the tall case (or grandfather) style of clock. His ingenious design made it possible for the weight and other clock parts to fit within a 24-inch diameter space and still run for eight days between windings.

After the conservation work was completed and the minute hand was repaired, the clock was reassembled in the Old Supreme Court. During its six-week absence, the Curator’s Office received many inquiries about why the clock was gone. The level of interest expressed inspired the Curator to revisit the clock’s history and search for evidence to verify some of the popular stories told in the Capitol about Simon Willard’s gallery clock.

The clock currently hangs above the fireplace in the Old Supreme Court Chamber. Over the years it has moved location several times, but it has always maintained its association with the Supreme Court. When the clock was delivered in 1837, it was placed in the Supreme Court Chamber in Capitol (S-141). In 1860 the Supreme Court moved upstairs to the present-day Old Senate Chamber, and the timepiece was transferred to the Clerk of the Court’s Office, now part of the Republican Leader’s Suite. In 1935, when construction on the Supreme Court building was complete, the Willard clock traveled across the street and was placed in the Clerk’s file room. The restoration of the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol during the 1970s brought the clock back to its original location in S-141.

Today, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney is credited with requesting the Simon Willard clock; however, early reports state that Justice Joseph Story was responsible for the order. An 1888 article from Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly entitled “The United States Supreme Court and the New Chief Justice” highlights Justice Story’s frustrations with “laggard” justices and states his response to this problem: “I’ll fix this,’ said Mr. Justice Story, ‘and we’ll get a clock that we can all go by.’” The article continues: “Mr. Story was one of the prompt ones. And he had this clock made.” Other early 20th-century articles credit Justice Story with the purchase of the clock, but a 1935 article from The Evening Star Washington attributes, for the first time, the ordering of the clock to Chief Justice Taney. The article refers to the timepiece as the “Old Taney Clock” and ascribes frustrations to Taney, not Story. Justice Story served on the bench from 1812 until his death in 1845, and Chief Justice Taney held his position from 1836 to 1864. The clock was ordered in 1836, so the dates of service of both justices make it possible that either could have been responsible for requesting the clock.

Modern accounts also credit Chief Justice Taney with having the clock set five minutes fast to improve the timeliness of the associate justices. Today the clock is still set five minutes ahead in honor of this practice. However, historical accounts describe the clock’s timekeeping as either one or two minutes ahead of the hour and attribute the desire to improve punctuality to either Justice Stephen Field or Justice Story. The 1935 Evening Star Washington article recalls that the clock was set two minutes ahead to ensure that the justices arrived at the bench in timely fashion. Another article, “Centenary of a Clock,” from a 1937 issue of the New York Times Magazine, states: “Long ago it hung in the robing room of the justices and there was a change made in the mechanism—tradition says by Justice Stephen J. Field. Since then it has struck its one note at exactly one minute before the hour of twelve, thus warning the black-gowned justices to be ready and waiting to ascend the bench precisely at noon.”

Although we have no primary sources (such as an invoice for work to adjust the clock mechanism or a firsthand account of setting the clock fast) to verify the truthfulness of these claims, the articles lead one to reasonably assume that the clock was set ahead at a calculated increment during its time in the Capitol. The report written by the conservator after he completed treatment of the gallery clock interprets its history on the basis of physical evidence preserved on its parts. While reassembling the clock, he mentioned that the movement is aligned so that it strikes one minute before the hour, rather than right on the hour. If you are watching when the clock is about to strike, you can see this for yourself. Perhaps there is something to the 1937 story, and over the years the one-minute change has grown to five. The Curator’s Office continues to search for historical evidence to help interpret this exquisite artifact that is an integral part of our nation’s history. With proper care and conservation, the Willard clock will continue to be a valued centerpiece in the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S. Capitol.

Justice

•Justice

•by Carlo Franzoni (1788-1819)

•Plaster, 1817

•Overall Measurement:

oHeight: 53.25 inches (135.3 cm)

oWidth: 127.25 inches (323.2 cm)

•Unsigned

•Cat. no. 25.00001.000

After the British burned the U.S. Capitol on August 24, 1814, architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe immediately oversaw reconstruction efforts. As part of this project, he engaged Italian sculptor Carlo Franzoni to create the only piece of permanent decoration in the new Supreme Court Chamber: a relief sculpture of Justice. The piece was to be mounted directly opposite the bench and the seats of the justices.

Two preliminary sketches exist for the figure of Justice, but it is unknown whether they date from before or after the damage to the building by the British. The sketches depict some of the same iconographic details seen in the Justice relief, although the final figure and composition are different. The drawings appear to be by either Giuseppe or Carlo Franzoni. Giuseppe, Carlo’s older brother, had actually been engaged by Latrobe to model Justice for the pre-fire Capitol in 1809. It is not known if Giuseppe Franzoni’s Justice was ever completed, because that version of the Supreme Court Chamber, along with the Senate and House Chambers, was destroyed. Giuseppe Franzoni died suddenly in 1815; the following year, Carlo arrived from Italy to work on the Capitol.

Carlo Franzoni apparently began executing the relief of Justice shortly after his arrival, because payments were made to various models, beginning in 1816, for sitting for the sculpture. Mary Ann Warren and Eliza Wade each received a payment of $25, while Prince Williams received $10 “for my boy Henry sitting 10 times for Mr. Franzoni.” It is unknown why Franzoni used three models, as only the figures of Justice and the Genius appear in the final composition. The plaster frieze was completed in 1817 and placed in a semicircular lunette on the west wall of the Supreme Court. The work has yet to be restored to its original appearance, although a preliminary physical investigation indicates the early presence of jade green and royal blue paint instead of the current azure background coloring.

Franzoni also produced the brilliantly imaginative and successful Car of History for the House of Representatives. The deserved fame of this work and its much more prominent location have unfortunately diminished the reputation of Justice. Charles E. Fairman, curator of the Capitol in the early 20th century, even insinuated that the relief might not be by Franzoni. A comparison of the distinctive and confident modeling of the drapery in the two works, however, leaves little doubt that one artist is responsible for both. Carlo Franzoni died unexpectedly at the age of 30 on May 12, 1819, only three years after arriving in the United States. His remains, and those of his brother Giuseppe, are interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, in Washington, D.C.

More on Justice

One of the oldest works of art in the Capitol is the plaster relief Justice by Italian artist Carlo Franzoni. This allegorical group, located in the Old Supreme Court Chamber, is dominated by the figure of Justice dressed in classical attire, with scales upraised in her left hand and her right hand resting on an unsheathed sword. The sculpture displays Franzoni’s thorough understanding of visual iconography and personification. Justice is the leader among the “cardinal” virtues (the others are Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance), because she regulates the actions of citizens individually and in society. In Franzoni’s relief, as is customary, she holds scales—signifying impartiality—and a sword, emblematic of her power.

The absence of a blindfold, which has become a ubiquitous element in western portrayals of Justice, makes this depiction distinctive. As early as the 16th century, Justice was portrayed blindfolded to reflect impartiality. In his 1789 treatise Iconology, George Richardson defined the meaning of this symbolism: “The white robes and bandage over her eyes, allude to incorrupt justice, disregarding every interested view, by distributing of justice with rectitude and purity of mind, and protecting the innocent.” [1] Why Franzoni chose an unconventional approach is unknown. One American writer in the late 19th century, in discussing another unblindfolded image of Justice in the Capitol, surmised “that with us justice is clear-sighted respecting the rights of all.” [2]

Franzoni’s relief features two birds. The first is an owl, a principal attribute of the Roman goddess Minerva, signifying wisdom. (As a war goddess, Minerva was the defender of just causes.) In Renaissance art, the owl is often perched on a stack of books to symbolize learning. But here, the owl is carved on the front leg of Justice’s chair while, instead, an American eagle perches on law books. The eagle’s head turns back toward Justice, whose head turns toward a nude, winged Genius. The guardian spirit of the new nation, the Genius holds and points to a tablet inscribed “The Constitution of the U.S.” Behind the Genius’s head is a sunburst, symbolizing Truth, whose light reveals all.

1.Vivien Green Fryd, Art and Empire: The Politics of Ethnicity in the United States Capitol, 1815-1860 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992), 179.

2.Ibid., 180.

here are a bunch of chairs and a couple of landmarks.

washington, dc

spring 2013

contax t

kentmere 100 @ 25

1.2cc rodinal / 240cc tank; 1 hr stand 20c

Rape is rape projected onto US Capitol Building.

The United States Capitol, located on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall, serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. Designed by a succession of architects, the neoclassical building is marked by its 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. With but one brief interruption, the Capitol has housed the legislative chambers of the U.S. Congress since 1800, and housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1800 until 1935. Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held here, the physical symbol of the United States of America.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the city, he chose Jenkins Hill, which rose 88 feet above the Potomac River, as the site for the new Capitol Building. The following year, a public design competition was held and amateur architect, William Thornton, inspired by the east front of the Louvre and the Roman Pantheon, was selected by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Execution was entrusted to Étienne Sulpice (Stephen) Hallet, a runner up in the competition, under the supervision of James Hoban. The cornerstone was laid by Washington on September 18, 1793. In 1795, Jefferson, vocal in his preference for Thornton's classical design, dismissed Hallet and George Hadfield was hired as superintendent of construction, only to resign three years later. In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe replaced him as Architect of the Capitoland, against his protestations, saw Thornton's design to near fruition.

The Capitol held its first session of United States Congress on November 17, 1800 in a then unfinished building. The Senate wing was completed that year, and the House of Representative wing was completed in 1811. In August 1814, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began under Latrobe, who was given more latitude to make alterations, in 1815 completed by 1819. Under Charles Bulfinch, who took over as Architect of the Capitol in 1918, construction continued through to 1826, with the addition of the center Rotunda area and the first dome of the Capitol.

The building was expanded dramatically in the 1850's under Thomas U. Walter, who was responsible for the wing extensions and the new "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. The double dome consists of 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.

When the dome 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. The East Front was rebuilt in 1904, following a design of Carrère and Hastings. A marble duplicate of the sandstone East Front was built 33.5 feet 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'>reflecting pool.

The current Capitol Grounds, cover approximately 274 acres, were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who planned the expansion and landscaping performed from 1874 to 1892. In 1875, as one of his first recommendations, Olmsted proposed the construction of the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the building that exist today.

In 2007, the U.S. Capitol was ranked #6 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

National Register #19600002

The General Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, located at the base of Capitol Hill below the west front of the United States Capitol and east of the National Mall, was installed over a period from 1912-1920 and officially dedicated on April 27, 1922. The memorial, created by sculptor Henry Merwin Shrady, assisted by sculptor Edmund Amateis, and architect William Pearce Casey, consists of of a long marble platform with an equestrian statue of General Grant in the center, and two groups of military figures--the Artillery Group on the south end, and the Cavalry Group on the north end. Shrady, who spent 20 years of his life working on the memorial, died two weeks before its dedication.

General Grant, in the center of the 252-foot long by 71-foot wide Vermont marble platform, faces west toward the Lincoln Memorial, honoring his war-time president. The 17-foot-2-inch, 10,700-piund statue, dressed in his military uniform and slouch hat, and seated astride his charger, Cincinnatus, is the second largest equestrian statue in the United States, and third in the world. On each side of the 22½-foot marble base is a large bas-relief panel depicting soldiers in action. Each of the four corners of the base is dotted with a bronze lion in repose guarding both the United States flag and the flags of the Army. The Union Cavalry Group depicts seven horsemen of the Cavalry Regiment's color squad making a charge, fronted by their commanding officer. The Union Artillery Group depicts three horses pulling a caisson carrying a cannon and three soldiers. A plague on the rear of the Artillery Group lists the names: Fairfax Ayers, James E. Chaney, and Henry J. Weeks (the West Point cadets who were the models). At completion, it was the largest bronze sculpture cast in the United States. Today it stands as part of a three-part sculptural group including the James A. Garfield Monument and the Peace Monument.

The idea for the memorial originated in 1895 by the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Grant's old command. The location on the east side of the mall was chosen when Theodore Roosevelt reportedly vetoed the original location of the Ellipse, since it would block his view of the Potomac. Excavation on the site began on October 7, 1907. The sculpture of Grant was installed in late 1920, the Artillery Group was placed on the site in 1912 and the Cavalry Group in 1916. The two reliefs on the base were sculpted by Fry and Amateis from a sketch done by Shrady shortly before his death and were installed after 1922.