Page 248 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

THE AMERICAS United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.

The US Capitol, one of best-known symbols of democracy,
has been the center of America's legislative process for
CANADA
200 years. A fine example of Neo-Classical architecture
(Neo-Classical Style, see p.57), its interior contains frescoes,
N0-.4York,- murals, and statuary influenced by ancient Greek and Roman
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
WASHINGTON, D.C.
designs. George Washington laid the foundation stone in
1793, and by 1800, although unfinished, the Capitol
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
was occupied. Construction resumed under architect
GULF OF Benjamin Latrobe, but the British burned the building
MEXICO
in the War of 1812. Restoration began in 1815. Many
THE DOME features, such as Brumidi's murals and the
By the 1850s, the original dome was too small Statue of Freedom, were added later.
for the enlarged Capitol Moreover, it leaked A Dome ----M~~
and was deemed a fire hazard. In 18 54, Originally made of wood GAl Rotunda
$100,000 was appropriated for architect and copper, the 1854 Completed in 1865, the
dome was designed by
Thomas U. Walter's new dome, which was Thomas U. Walter. 180-ft (55-m) high Rotunda is
constructed of cast iron. Walter's double-dome capped by The Apotheosis of
Washington, a fresco by
design recalls the Pantheon in Paris. Sculptor Constantino Brumidi.
Thomas Crawford created a 19.5-ft (6-m)
high bronze to crown the dome, and in 1863,
Hall of Columns GAl National Statuary Hall
during the American Civil W<Jr (1861-5), the
This is lined with statues of
Statue of Freedom-a Classical female figure notable Americans.
standing on a globe with the national motto,
E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one )-was
raised atop the 287-ft (87 5-m) high dome.

THE ROTUNDA FRIEZE
Thomas U. Walter's 1859 drawings showed
a recessed, bas-relief sculpture in the Rotunda.
The pi an changed, and by 1877, a fresco
8ft 4 in (2 .5 m) high and 300ft (91 m) in
circumference was being painted. The Frieze of
American History has 19 panels, which begin
over the west door and move clockwise around
the Rotunda. The first panel is the only one to
contain allegorical figures, with female person-
ifications of America and History. The rest
recount major events in US hi story, including
Columbus's landing, the colonization of New
England, the Declaration of Independence, the
discovery of gold in California, and the Wright
Brothers' first flight in 1903.

STATUARY
In 1864, Congress invited each US state to
contribute two statues of notable citizens to
stand in the National Statuary Hall. Soon,
the collection grew too large, and much of it
House Chamber
can now be seen in the Hall of Columns and
in the various corridors of the Capitol. Statues
of former US presidents Washington, Jackson,
Garfield, and Eisenhower can be seen in the
Rotunda .. In the Statuary Hall are statues of KEY DATES
General Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson
1791-92 1829 1851 1983-93
Davis; King Kamehameha I, unifier of Hawaii;
Robert Fulton, inventor of the first commercially The site is chosen for The original Capitol The foundatbn stones The west front and
successful steamboat; Huey P Long, a new national capital; building is completed, are laid for new wings, west terrace are
the city of vvashin gton, after W"Ork by three which are built by restored.
Depression-era demagogue; Sam Houston,
D. c., is designed and succe$ive architects. Thomas u. vva~er.
president of the Republic of Texas; and mapped.
Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee alphabet