United States Capitol

Seat of the U.S. Congress, crowned by a great white cast-iron dome.

Congress first met here on 17 November 1800, after moving from Philadelphia. Since then the building has been built, burned, rebuilt and enlarged many times. From the east front to the top of the statue on its dome, it is 288 feet, or about 88 metres, tall. Today it holds about 540 rooms and 658 windows, and millions of people from around the world visit it every year.

History

In 1793, President George Washington chose a design by William Thornton, an amateur architect, and that September he laid the building's cornerstone. During the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the Capitol in 1814, but it was fully repaired within about five years. As more states joined the country, Congress kept growing, so in the 1850s and 1860s large new wings were added for the Senate and the House. The building also became a museum of American art and history, and it is still used every day by lawmakers.

The great dome

The first dome was low and covered in copper. The dome you see today was designed by the architect Thomas U. Walter and built from 1856 to 1866, partly during the American Civil War. It is made of cast iron, a kind of iron poured into moulds, weighing about 4,000 tonnes, and it is painted white. In 1863 the bronze Statue of Freedom was raised to its very top. Inside, visitors look up through an opening in the inner dome to a huge painting called The Apotheosis of Washington.

What's inside

Right under the dome is the Rotunda, a round hall full of paintings and statues about important people and events in American history. It was designed to remind people of the Pantheon, an ancient temple in Rome. Next to it, the room where the House met until 1857 is now National Statuary Hall, which holds statues sent by the states. Visitors begin at the Capitol Visitor Center, which lies underground and is nearly three-quarters the size of the Capitol itself. From galleries on the third floor, people can watch the Senate and the House at work.

On the globe

The model shows the long white building in Washington, D.C., with a wing on each side and its great dome in the middle. Look for the round dome rising above the rows of columns.