POST RENAISSANCE – UNITED SATES CAPITOL

BRIEF HISTORY
 The United States Capitol, located in Washington, D.C., houses the legislative branch of the federal
government of the United States. The Capitol is one of the most recognizable structures in the United
States, with a history dating back to the post-Renaissance period.
 The current Capitol building is the third version of the structure, as the first two were destroyed by fire.
The first Capitol building, a modest two-story structure, was completed in 1800. It was built on swamp
land that required extensive excavation and filling to prepare for construction.
 During the War of 1812, British troops burned down the Capitol and other government buildings in
Washington, D.C. In the 1820s and 1830s, the Capitol was rebuilt in a grander style, with a central dome
and two wings. This structure was completed in 1868 and has remained largely unchanged to this day.
 The Capitol has undergone a number of renovations and expansions over the years to accommodate
Congress's growing needs. A new House of Representatives office building and a new Senate office
building were built in the early twentieth century to provide more space for lawmakers and staff.
 A major renovation project to update and modernize the Capitol building began in 1962. This included
installing a new heating and cooling system, restoring the building's exterior, and building a new
underground visitor center.
 Today, the Capitol Building serves as a symbol of American democracy and the seat of the United States
government. It is a popular destination for visitors from all over the world who come to tour the building
and see how Congress works.
ARCHITECTS
 The Architect of the Capitol is accountable to Congress and the Supreme Court for the upkeep,
operation, development, and preservation of 17.4 million square feet (1,620,000 m2) of buildings and
more than 553 acres (224 ha) of land on Capitol Hill.

1. William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was an American physician, inventor, painter and
architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first
Superintendent of the United States Patent Office.
2. Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a neoclassical architect from
England who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects
in the new United States, influenced by his travels in Italy as well as British and French Neoclassical architects
like Claude Nicolas Ledoux. He immigrated to the new United States in his thirties, designing the United States
Capitol on "Capitol Hill" in Washington, D.C., as well as the Old Baltimore Cathedral or The Baltimore Basilica
(later renamed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary).
3. Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by
many as the first American-born professional architect to practice. Bulfinch worked in both his hometown of
Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., where he was Commissioner of Public Buildings and designed
the intermediate United States Capitol rotunda and dome. His works are notable for their simplicity, balance,
and good taste, as well as for establishing a distinct Federal style of classical domes, columns, and ornament
that dominated early nineteenth-century American architecture.
4. Thomas Ustick Walter (September 4, 1804 – October 30, 1887) was an American architect of German descent
who served as the dean of American architecture between Benjamin Latrobe's death in 1820 and the rise of
H.H. Richardson was born in the 1870s. He was the fourth architect of the Capitol, and he was in charge of
adding the north (Senate) and south (House) wings, as well as the central dome that dominates the current
appearance of the United States. The Capitol structure. Walter was a founding member and the second
 president of the American Institute of Architects. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in
1839.
5. Edward Clark (August 15, 1822 – January 6, 1902) was an American architect who served as Architect of the
Capitol from 1865 to 1902.
6. Elliot Woods was appointed Architect of the Capitol by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt on February 19,
1902. He served in this position until his death on May 22, 1923.[1] During this period, relatively little changed
in the Capitol itself, but the House abandoned desks for chairs because it had grown to 435 members.
7. David Lynn's presidency, the Capitol complex received four major additions: the Longworth House Office
Building, the Supreme Court
Building, the U.S. The Botanic Garden Conservatory and the Library of Congress annex, now known as the John
Adams Building
8. Alan Michael Hantman, FAIA (born October 13, 1942) is an American architect who served as the
10th Architect of the Capitol from February 1997 until February 2007.[3] As Architect of the Capitol, he was
responsible to the United States Congress for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of
the United States Capitol Complex.
9. Stephen T. Ayers was the first Architect of the Capitol to be certified as an Accredited Professional in the U.S.
Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. He has been seeking
to reduce energy consumption on Capitol Hill.[4]
10. James Brett Blanton is an American professional engineer who served as Architect of the Capitol (AOC) from
January 2020 until February 13, 2023, overseeing the office of the Architect of the Capitol and its more than
2,400 employees.

DESIGN COMPETITION

 which was held in 1792 to select the design for the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
 At the time, the new nation's capital was being established in Washington, D.C., and it was decided that a
new capitol building would be constructed to house the federal government. The competition was
announced by the federal government and invited architects and designers to submit proposals for the
building's design.
CONSTRUCTION
 The construction of the United States Capitol building began in 1793, following the selection of James
Hoban's design in the United States Capitol Design Competition. The building was constructed over the
course of several decades, with many changes and expansions made along the way.
 The construction of the building was initially overseen by architect Stephen Hallet, but he was dismissed
from the project in 1798 due to disagreements with the government. James Hoban was then brought back
on to the project to serve as the supervising architect, a role he held until 1802.
EARLY RELIGIOUS USE
 The United States Capitol building has a long history of religious use, dating back to its construction in the
late 18th and early 19th centuries. During this time, the building was often used for religious services and
events, as there were few other large public buildings in Washington, D.C.
 One of the earliest religious events held in the Capitol was a Christian worship service held in the House of
Representatives chamber in 1800. President Thomas Jefferson, who was known for his strict adherence to
the separation of church and state, attended the service and later expressed his approval of the event,
noting that the use of the Capitol for religious purposes was in line with the principles of religious
freedom.
WAR OF 1812
  The War of 1812 played a significant role in the history of the United States Capitol, as the building was
famously burned by British troops during the conflict.
 In August of 1814, British troops invaded Washington, D.C. and set fire to a number of government
buildings, including the Capitol and the White House. The attack was part of a larger British campaign to
bring the United States back under British control, and it was seen as a major blow to American morale.
THE HOUSE OF SENATE WINGS
 The House and Senate Wings of the United States Capitol are two of the most recognizable and important
features of the building. These wings were added to the Capitol in the mid-19th century, and they have
since become the primary working spaces for the legislative branches of the United States government.
 The House Wing was the first to be added to the Capitol, and it was completed in the 1850s. This wing
contains the chamber of the United States House of Representatives, which is one of the two houses of
Congress. The chamber is located at the south end of the House Wing, and it is adorned with ornate
decorations and artworks, including a large fresco on the ceiling that depicts important events from
American history.
CAPITOL DOME
 The U.S. Capitol’s dome made of cast iron was designed by Thomas U. Walter and constructed from
1856-1866 at the total cost of $1,047,291.
CAPITOL ROTUNDA
 Conceived in the age of neoclassicism, the Rotunda was intended to recall the Pantheon, the ancient
Roman temple. Bulfinch created in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda an ambitious orchestration of architecture,
sculpture and painting.
U.S CAPITOL GROUNDS
 The grounds immediately surrounding the U.S. Capitol are bordered by a stone wall and cover an area
of 58.8 acres. Its boundaries are Independence Avenue on the south, Constitution Avenue on the north,
First Street NE/SE on the east, and First Street NW/SW on the west.
CAPITOL SUBWAY SYSTEM
 The U.S. Capitol subway consists of three lines: two on the Senate (north) side of the Capitol, and one
on the House (south) side of the Capitol.
CRYPT
 This center section of the building was completed in 1827 under the direction of the third Architect of
the Capitol, Charles Bulfinch
REFERENCES

 Allen, William C. (2001). History of the United States Capitol – A Chronicle of Design,
Construction, and Politics. Government Printing
Office. ISBN 0160508304. OCLC 46420177. Archived from the original on April 23,
2002. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
 Brown, Glenn (1998). Architect of the Capitol for The United States Capitol Preservation
Commission (ed.). History of the United States Capitol (Annotated Edition in
Commemoration of The Bicentennial of the United States Capitol ed.). Government
Printing Office. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008.
 Frary, Ihna Thayer (1969). They Built the Capitol. Ayer Publishing. ISBN 0-8369-5089-5.
 Guy Gugliotta (2012). Freedom's Cap: The United States Capitol and the Coming of the
Civil War. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-8090-4681-2.
 Hazelton, George Cochrane (1907). The National Capitol. J. F. Taylor & Co.
 Fryd, Vivien Green (1987). Two Sculptures for the Capitol: Horatio Greenough's "Rescue"
and Luigi Persico's "Discovery of America." In American Art Journal (Vol. 19, pp. 16–39).
 Overview of Doing Business with AOC". Retrieved April 4, 2014.
 ^ Jump up to:a b c "Responsibilities of the Architect | Architect of the Capitol". Aoc.gov.
Retrieved February 12, 2013.
 ^ "2 U.S. Code § 1801 - Appointment". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved February
13, 2023.
 ^ Jump up to:a b "Biden dismisses scandal-plagued Capitol manager". POLITICO.
Retrieved February 13, 2023.
 ^ Architect of the Capitol. Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2022, Nov.
2022. Performance and accountability reports are at http://www.aoc.gov/par
 ^ Brudnick, Ida (March 30, 2023). "Architect of the Capitol: Evolution and Implementation of the
Appointment Procedure" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original on
May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.