A manual on the origin and development of Washington

by H. Paul Caemmerer

THE CAPITOL

The site for the Capitol, or the Federal House, as selected by L’Enfant, is on what was then known as Jenkin’s Hill, 88 feet above the level of the Potomac River.

The northwest cornerstone of the main building was laid on September 18, 1793, by President Washington with Masonic ceremonies. The building is of Virginia sandstone from quarries on Aquia Creek.

The north wing was finished in 1800 and the south wing in 1811. A wooden passageway connected them. Congress convened there for the first time at the second session of the Sixth Congress, which began November 17, 1800, and ended March 3, 1801.

The original designs were prepared by Dr. William Thornton, and the work was done under the direction of Stephen H. Hallet, James Hoban, and George Hadfield. Benjamin H. Latrobe was the architect. Washington and Jefferson favored the classical type of architecture for the building, and it was adopted.

On August 24, 1814, the interior of both wings was destroyed by fire set by the British. Many books of the small Library of Congress housed in the building at that time were burned, whereupon Congress purchased the library of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. The damage to the Capitol was immediately repaired.

In 1818 the central portion of the building was commenced under the architectural superintendence of Charles Bulfinch, architect, of Boston. The original building was finally completed in 1827. Its cost, including the grading of the grounds, alterations, and repairs, up to 1827, was $2,433,844.13.

Because of the growth of the Republic, after half a century it became necessary to build a Senate Chamber on the north and a House of Representatives Chamber on the south. The cornerstone of the extensions to the Capitol which increased it to its present size was laid on July 4, 1851, by President Fillmore. Daniel Webster was the orator of the day. This work was prosecuted under the direction of Thomas U. Walter, Architect of the Capitol until 1865, when he resigned, and was completed under the supervision of Edward Clark. The House extension was first occupied for legislative purposes December 16, 1857, and the Senate extension January 4, 1859.

The white marble used in the walls is from Massachusetts and that in the columns from Maryland.

Courtesy of Commercial Photo Co.

THE CAPITOL

The entire length of the building from north to south is 751 feet 4 inches and its greatest dimension from east to west is 350 feet. The area covered by the building is 3¹⁄₂ acres.

The Dome of the original central building was constructed of wood, covered with copper. The present structure of cast iron was commenced in 1856, and completed in 1865. The entire weight of iron used is 8,909,200 pounds.

The Dome is crowned by the bronze Statue of Freedom, 19 feet 6 inches high and weighing 14,985 pounds. It was modeled by the sculptor Thomas Crawford. The height of the Dome above the base line of the east front is 287 feet 5 inches. The height from the top of the balustrade of the building is 217 feet 11 inches. The greatest diameter at the base is 135 feet 5 inches.

The Rotunda is 97 feet 6 inches in diameter, and its height from the floor to the top of the canopy is 180 feet 3 inches. The canopy overhanging the Dome, portraying the Apotheosis of Washington, was painted by Brumidi.

The Rotunda frieze, 65 feet above the floor, making a circle 300 feet in length around the walls, illustrates important periods in American history.

Paintings in the Rotunda are as follows:

The Landing of Columbus on San Salvador, October 12, 1492, by Vanderlyn.

The Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto, 1541, by W. H. Powell.

The Baptism of Pocahontas, Jamestown, Va., 1613, by John G. Chapman.

The Embarkation of the Pilgrims from Delft-Haven, July 22, 1620, by Robert W. Weir.

The Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, by John Trumbull.

The Surrender of Burgoyne, Saratoga, October 17, 1777, by John Trumbull.

The Surrender of Cornwallis, Yorktown, Va., October 19, 1781, by John Trumbull.

The Resignation of General Washington, December 23, 1783, by John Trumbull.

The Senate Chamber is 113 feet 3 inches in length by 80 feet 3 inches in width and 36 feet in height. The galleries will accommodate 682 persons. The House of Representatives Chamber is 139 feet in length by 93 feet in width and 36 feet in height. In 1800 the Chambers were lighted by lamps and tallow candles, and the 142 Representatives were seated in chairs. To-day there are 435 Members of the House of Representatives, in addition to 2 Delegates and 2 Resident Commissioners, who are seated on benches, which are arranged in a semicircle like those of the theater of Dionysius. To-day the Capitol is lighted by electricity and equipped with a modern ventilating system.

The room later occupied by the Supreme Court of the United States was the Senate Chamber until 1859. Previous to that time the court occupied the room immediately beneath, now used as a law library.

Beautiful paintings by Brumidi, Trumbull, and others adorn the Capitol, and many statues, gift of the States, may be seen in Statuary Hall, set apart as such in 1864, being formerly the House of Representatives Chamber.

THE CAPITOL AT NIGHT

STATUE OF FREEDOM

Massive bronze doors by Rogers, depicting scenes from the life of Christopher Columbus, are at the main entrance, the east, and open from the portico to the Rotunda. They call to mind the Ghiberti doors in Florence.

There are 24 columns of Maryland sandstone, 30 feet high, in the central portico. Statues by Greenough and Persico flank the steps.

The Capitol is to-day the most significant building in this country. Its assessed value in 1930 for building and grounds was $45,000,000.

On the east portico of the Capitol newly elected Presidents of the United States take the oath of office.

STATUE OF FREEDOM

As has been stated, the Statue of Freedom surmounting the Dome of the Capitol is the work of one of America’s great artists, Thomas Crawford. The modeling was done in Rome, and at the time of his death, in 1857, he was endeavoring to secure the necessary funds for the casting of it at the Royal Foundry at Munich. On April 19, 1858, the plaster model was shipped from Leghorn, Italy, and after a perilous voyage to New York it arrived in Washington in April, 1859. At that time work on completion of the Capitol was proceeding under the supervision of Thomas U. Walter, architect.

On May 24, 1860, the Secretary of War, in a statement concerning the casting of the statue stated that—

it will be cast by Clark Mills and he will be paid for his services and for the rent of his foundry [at Mills Avenue toward Bladensburg, where the Andrew Jackson equestrian was cast in 1853] and necessary expenses at the rate of $400 per month and that the material, fuel, labor, etc., will be paid for by the Government.

This arrangement had been entered into and the work had progressed to quite an extent, when Captain Meigs, who had returned to duty at the Capitol, issued a formal statement of the existence of war, on May 15, 1861, suspending work on the Capitol extension and the new Dome. But subsequently, even though the existence of war between the States handicapped the Government, the necessary arrangements for completing the Dome and for casting the statue were made. The statue was hoisted in place on the Dome amid a salute of 35 guns on December 2, 1863.

The original model of the statue may be seen to-day in the rotunda of the Museum of History Building of the Smithsonian Institution.

BRONZE DOORS OF THE CAPITOL

These bronze doors, the central and most elaborate of the Capitol, were modeled by Randolph Rogers at Rome in 1858, and cast at the Royal Bavarian Foundry in Munich by Ferdinand von Muller, director, at a cost of $17,000. Each of the doors is 19 feet high and 5 feet wide. They are surmounted by a semicircular transom-panel or lunette representing the landing of Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. The casing border is a decorative scheme composed of anchors, rudders, and armor; four figures in low relief typify Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. At the top of the casing arch is a bust of Columbus.

BRONZE DOORS AT MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE CAPITOL, BY ROGERS

Each of the doors is separated into four panels, portraying scenes in alto-relief from life of Columbus.

The lowest panel on the left-hand door pictures Columbus before the Council of Salamanca. Then follows his departure from the Convent of La Rabida for the Spanish Court. The next is the audience before Ferdinand and Isabella, and the last the sailing from Palos on the first voyage.

The top panel on the right-hand door represents the first encounter with the Indians. The next the triumphal entry into Barcelona. Then follows Columbus in chains, and the last depicts the death of the discoverer.

The borders of the separate doors each contain eight figures representing prominent personages of the fifteenth century who played important parts in the events connected with the discovery of America.

BRONZE DOORS OF THE SENATE WING

The bronze doors of the Senate wing were designed by Thomas Crawford, sculptor, though the actual work of executing the plaster models was done by William H. Rinehart. They represent Crawford’s last work as a sculptor. It was first contemplated that one of the doors should be cast at the Royal Bavarian Foundry in Munich and that the other door should be cast in this country. The death of Thomas Crawford in 1857 and the subsequent occurrence of the Civil War caused many of the plans to be changed. The doors, the first of that kind in America, were finally cast in 1868 at Chicopee, Mass., by James T. Ames, and the expense, $50,000, was far greater than was anticipated at the time when it was planned to have the work done in this country. They weigh 14,000 pounds. The sculptor, Rinehart, received about $9,000.

Each of the doors consists of three panels and a medallion picturing events of the Revolutionary War.

The upper panel of the right-hand door contains a representation of the death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775; the center panel shows General Washington rebuking Gen. Charles Lee at the Battle of Monmouth, N. J., on June 28, 1778; the lower panel pictures the storming of a redoubt at Yorktown, Va., led by Alexander Hamilton, on October 14, 1781; the medallion at the bottom represents a conflict between a Hessian soldier and a New Jersey farmer.

The medallion at the bottom of the left-hand door represents Peace and Agriculture. Above is a panel showing General Washington passing underneath an arch of flowers at Trenton, N. J., while on his way to New York City to be inaugurated as the first President of the United States; the middle panel represents Washington taking the oath of office as President, which was administered by Chancellor Livingston on April 30, 1789—the United States Supreme Court had not as yet been organized, so that the oath could not be administered by the Chief Justice. The top panel represents President Washington laying the corner stone of the Capitol on September 18, 1793.

BRONZE DOORS AT THE SENATE WING, BY CRAWFORD

BRONZE DOORS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WING

The bronze doors of the House of Representatives resemble in general outline and arrangement the bronze doors of the Senate. Each door consists of three panels and a medallion picturing events in American history. The design is that of Thomas Crawford, sculptor, but the modeling and completion was that of William H. Rinehart. The models after being transported to this country remained for a long time in storage and were finally cast by M. H. Mosman, at Chicopee, Mass., who had succeeded to or continued the business organization of James T. Ames, by whom the Senate doors were cast.

The doors were installed in the autumn of 1905, the cost to the Government being $45,000.

The upper panel of the left-hand door portrays the Massacre of Wyoming, July 17, 1778; the center panel the Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775; the lower panel presentation of flag to Gen. William Moultrie for his defense of Sullivans Island, Charleston Harbor, June 28, 1776; and the medallion at the bottom shows the death of General Montgomery in the attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775.

The upper panel of the right-hand door depicts the reading of the Declaration of Independence; the center panel the signing of the Paris treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, September 3, 1783; the lower panel Washington’s farewell to his officers at New York, December 4, 1783; and the medallion at the bottom contains a seated figure of Franklin in his study.