Erecting the Capitol dome
Although President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol in 1793, construction of current dome did not begin until 1856. The dome, which replaced an earlier one made of copper and wood, took a decade to complete and cost just over one million dollars to build. This photograph was taken from the east side of the national
landmark on December 31, 1857.
Photograph of the Construction on the New U.S. Capitol Dome, 12/31/1857
via DocsTeach
On September 18, 1793, George Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol building, the future home of the legislative branch of government.
Six years earlier, on September 17, 1787, Washington was among the 39 men who signed the United States Constitution; effectively putting the framework of the new government into place. Despite this, the physical location of the government would not be completed for many years.
The north wing was finished in 1800; the south wing in 1811. Then the Capitol was burned in the War of 1812, but a rainstorm saved it from complete destruction (Congress was forced to meet in temporary quarters until 1819). During the Civil War, it was used as Union barracks.
Now, 219 years later, the building stands completed, with 540 rooms. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first President to be inaugurated at the Capitol, a tradition that continues to this day.
Photograph of the Capitol Building under construction in Washington, DC, ca. 1863.
Spring flowers arrived early in Washington, DC this year. This photo from the Records of the Environmental Protection Agency depicts the US Capitol Building in early April 2005.
Has spring sprung earlier than usual in your neck of the woods?
“Shacks, put up by the Bonus Army on the Anacostia flats, Washington, D.C., burning after the battle with the military. The Capitol in the background. 1932.”
In the summer of 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, World War I veterans seeking early payment of a bonus scheduled for 1945 assembled in Washington to pressure Congress and the White House. After the Senate rejected the bonus, most of the protesters went home, but a core of ten thousand members of the “Bonus Army” remained behind, many with their families. On the morning of July 28, violence erupted between the protesters and police, and President Hoover reluctantly sent in federal troops under Maj. Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Ignoring the President’s order for restraint, the flamboyant general drove the tattered protesters from the city and violently cleared their Anacostia campsite.
Photograph of Aerial View of Capitol and Federal Triangle, June 15, 1936
If you look closely you can see the National Archives Building (the first building in the triangle). Can you tell what buildings haven’t been built yet in this photo?
