In 1885, fourteen years ago, the readers of The American Architect (Boston) were invited to name, by a consensus of votes, their choice of the then most beautiful buildings in America. The voting resulted in a list of the following ten buildings:—
United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Hallet, Thornton, Hadfield, Hoban, Latrobe, Bulfinch,
Walter and Clark, Architects.
III.
House of W. K. Vanderbilt, New York.
R. M. Hunt, Architect.
IV.
Trinity Church, New York. Richard Upjohn,
Architect.
V.
Jefferson Market Court-House, New York.
F. C. Withers, Architect.
VI.
State Capitol, Hartford, Conn. Richard
Upjohn, Architect.
VII.
City Hall, Albany, N.Y. H. H. Richardson,
Architect.
VIII.
Sever Hall, Cambridge, Mass. H. H. Richardson,
Architect.
IX.
State Capitol, Albany, N.Y. H. H. Richardson
and others, Architects.
X.
Town Hall, North Easton, Mass. H. H.
Richardson, Architect.
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, DETAIL
NEW YORK CITY
The Capitol at Washington is 751 feet in length and 121 to 324 feet wide, consisting of a main edifice of sandstone, painted white, and of two wings of white marble, and covers an area of 3-1/2 acres. The site was selected by a French engineer, Peter Charles L'Enfant in 1791, and the design for the first building—a compromise between the plans of Stephen Hallet and Dr. William Thornton,—was chosen by competition in 1792. In 1795 George Hadfield was placed in charge of the work, and was succeeded in 1798 by James Hoban, neither of whom made important changes in Thornton's designs. In 1814 the building consisted of two small wings connected by a wooden bridge; and in that year the structure was damaged by fire set by the British. Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who was appointed in 1803, continued in charge until 1817, when he resigned, turning over his post and plans to Charles Bulfinch of Boston,—the first American-born architect of the Capitol. Bulfinch completed the central structure, and crowned it with the original low dome. In 1828 the old capitol was substantially completed, and the office of architect abolished. In 1843, it being necessary to enlarge the former structure, plans were advertised for, and in 1850 those of T. U. Walter of Philadelphia were accepted. The additions made the old dome look insignificant, and Walter designed the present one, which was completed in 1863. The terraces and the approaches, begun in 1882, are the work of Edward Clark.
