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Constructing the Capitol

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  • Constructing the Capitol: William Thornton

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    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
  • Constructing the Capitol: Early Design

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    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.

  • Constructing the Capitol: North Wing

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    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
  • Constructing the Capitol: Benjamin Henry Latrobe

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    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)
  • Constructing the Capitol: Old Supreme Court Chamber

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    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
  • Constructing the Capitol: Columns

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    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.

  • Constructing the Capitol: Latrobe's Rendering

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    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 1815 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.

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