Collection America Under Fire
The young national capital at Washington, D.C. became the epicenter of The War of 1812 with Great Britain during the...
Constructing the Capitol
Gallery
-
The first Architect of the Capitol, William Thornton, was raised in England and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund -
Keenly interested in art and architecture, William Thornton was skilled enough as a draftsman to create an innovative design for the Capitol that met with President Washington's ideas for the building.
-
After seven years of construction, only the Capitol's north wing was ready for occupancy. The wing accommodated the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Library of Congress when the seat of government was moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800.
Library of Congress -
English-born Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of the first professional architects to practice in the United States, was a brilliant designer and engineer.
White House Historical Association (White House Collection) -
Latrobe designed the Old Supreme Court Chamber with its dramatic lobed vault in 1807.
Franz Jantzen, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States -
Benjamin Latrobe's Corn Cob capital and bundled corn stalk columns carved by sculptor Giuseppe Franzoni, installed in the east vestibule of the north wing in 1809 survived the 1814 fire.
-
Benjamin Latrobe's rendering of a completed Capitol.
Library of Congress
About this Gallery
Construction on the United States Capitol building began in 1793, and the first wing--housing the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Library of Congress--was completed in 1800. It was designed by the first Architect of the Capitol, Dr. William Thornton. Benjamin Henry Latrobe became Architect of the Capitol in 1915 and was responsible for the Capitol's rebuilding after it was destroyed in the War of 1812. He resigned on November 1817 because of what he felt was continued interference by his superiors. Before leaving Washington Latrobe restored the old House and Senate Chambers, considered today to be some of the finest neoclassical spaces in America, and produced drawings for the central rotunda section, partially followed by his successor Charles Bulfinch.
You Might Also Like
-
-
Architecture: 1790s-1840s
1790sThe Presidents House was a major feature of Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the city of Washington. He envisioned a...
-
Emancipation in the President's Neighborhood, 1850
On April 16, 2012, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, a day of jubilation for the...
-
Notable African Americans in the Early Nineteenth Century White House
While not as famous as the presidents they served, several African American slaves who lived inside the White House went...
-
Sicilian Salvador Catalano
Few people today know the story of a Sicilian-born sailor named Salvadore Catalano who became an early American naval hero....
-
Rescue of the Papers of State During the Burning of Washington
In August 1814, British forces occupying the Chesapeake Bay began to sail up the Patuxent River in Maryland. Fearing an attack...
-
The Christmas Eve West Wing Fire of 1929
On Christmas Eve 1929 the White House experienced its most powerful fire since the British torched the Executive Mansion 115 years earlier....
-
Commodore Stephen Decatur: An Early American Naval War Hero
In President Theodore Roosevelt’s description of the capture of the HMS Macedonian by the USS United States in his 1882 bo...
-
The Presidential Sweet Tooth
As the holidays approach, thoughts inevitably turn to sugar plums, gingerbread, and all of the other delectable treats that season...
-
Emancipation Day, A Celebration in Washington, D.C.
THE NEGRO CELEBRATION IN WASHINGTON The occasion of the celebration, which took place April 19, was the abolition of slavery in...
-
Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.
Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act to end slavery in the District of Columbia and President Abraham Lincoln signed the...
-
Japanese State Dinners
Following the close of World War II, Japan and the United States developed a close alliance and strategic and trade...