The+Capitol

=** The Capitol **=

** History **
The Capitol Building's history began when a cornerstone was laid by President Washington in the building's southeast corner on September 18, 1793. On August 1796 the entire work effort was focused on the building's north wing so that at least it could be ready for government occupancy as scheduled for 1800. By 1811 the eastern half wing was completed. The war of 1812 left the Capitol on ruins. On January of 1818 Bulfinch redesigned and supervised the construction of the Capitol's central section. The project was completed in 1962.

** Characteristics **
The Capitol building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings. The Capitol rises to 289 feet, only the dome is of 100 feet (30 m). It has underground tunnels and a private subway to connect the Capitol Building with each of the Congressional offices. Under the rotunda there is an area known as the Crypt, designed to look down on the final resting place of George Washington in thr tomb below. A steep, metal staircase, totaling 365 steps; the number of steps represents each day of the year.

People and places
In 1792 Thomas Jefferson proposed a design competition for the Capitol. The Capitol was made as the legislative building for the U.S, Washington DC. In 1793 Jefferson convined a comission including Hallet, Thornton and Hoban to revise Thornton's plan. Thornton's design was then modified by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and then Charles Bulfinch. The dome and house of senate wings were designed by Thomas U. Walter and August Schoenborn and was completed under the supervision of Edward Clark. George Bom Ford and Joseph Gardner Swift helped rebuild the Capitol.

Renovations
The 1850 expansion more than doubled the length of the Capitol. In 1855 was made to tear it down and replace it with the "wedding cake style" cast-iron that stands today.The capitol was partially burned by the British on August 24, 1814 during the war of 1812. Reconstruction began in 1815 and was completed by 1819. By 1850 two new wings were added. The building was later re built and expanded in the 1900's.

__ Links __
__[|www.visitingdc.com/capitol/capitol-building]__ __[|www.aoc.gov/cc/capitol]__ __[|www.wikipedia.org/capitol-U.S_building]__