the monk
Holding up the sky
These columns began their life on the East Portico of the US Capitol in 1828. They were quarried from sandstone near Aquia Creek in Virginia and were barged to Washington DC in the early days of the US, before the familiar Capitol dome was completed.
Their stay at the Capitol was to be limited by an oversight. The dome of the Capitol, completed in 1864, appeared as if it was not adequately supported by the columns because the iron dome that was ultimately built was significantly larger than the dome that the designer envisioned. An addition to the east side of the Capitol was proposed to eliminate this unsettling illusion, but it was not constructed until 1958.
The columns were removed and replaced by the current columns the capital dome now rests on. They were then placed at the US National Arboretum in Washington DC. They appear out of place in this setting, sitting high up on a hill.
Holding up the sky
These columns began their life on the East Portico of the US Capitol in 1828. They were quarried from sandstone near Aquia Creek in Virginia and were barged to Washington DC in the early days of the US, before the familiar Capitol dome was completed.
Their stay at the Capitol was to be limited by an oversight. The dome of the Capitol, completed in 1864, appeared as if it was not adequately supported by the columns because the iron dome that was ultimately built was significantly larger than the dome that the designer envisioned. An addition to the east side of the Capitol was proposed to eliminate this unsettling illusion, but it was not constructed until 1958.
The columns were removed and replaced by the current columns the capital dome now rests on. They were then placed at the US National Arboretum in Washington DC. They appear out of place in this setting, sitting high up on a hill.