United States Capitol United States

Legendary

The meeting place for the Unites States Congress and the Senate.

The dome on top of the Capitol looks like stone. It isn't. It's made of almost 9 million pounds of cast iron, painted to match the marble walls below.

Iron was chosen for a reason. The building had already burned once, and the people who designed the new dome wanted to make sure it could never happen again.

The Capitol is where the U.S. Congress meets to make the country's laws. It sits on a hill in Washington, D.C.

On September 18, 1793, President George Washington crossed the Potomac River to lay the building's first cornerstone. Marching bands, cannons, and a parade came with him, and a big feast followed.

The design came from William Thornton, a doctor who liked drawing buildings in his spare time. He sent in his plan late, but Washington praised its "grandeur, simplicity, and convenience."

In 1800, Congress moved in. Only the north wing was finished, so senators and representatives squeezed into a small, crowded space.

Then came the War of 1812 against Great Britain. On August 24, 1814, British troops marched into Washington and set fire to the Capitol, the White House, and other government buildings.

Rebuilding took years. By the 1820s, the Capitol had a new center section and a low dome made of wood and copper.

The country kept growing, and so did Congress. The building was stretched with new wings on each end, and the small wooden dome suddenly looked too tiny for it.

In 1855, Congress voted for a giant new fireproof dome, designed by architect Thomas U. Walter. Steam-powered cranes lifted the heavy iron pieces into place.

The Civil War broke out in 1861 while work was still going on. Some people wanted to stop, but President Abraham Lincoln said that seeing the Capitol keep rising showed the Union would keep going too.

On December 2, 1863, the bronze Statue of Freedom was lifted onto the very top as cannons fired salutes across the city. A man named Philip Reid, who was enslaved when the work began, helped cast it and had won his freedom by the time it was put in place.

The dome was finally finished in 1866, a year after the war ended.

Book a free tour to stand in the Rotunda, right under the dome, and look up at the huge painting on the ceiling 180 feet above you. Find the full-size plaster model of the Statue of Freedom in Emancipation Hall at the Visitor Center. Then walk out to the west front for the view down the National Mall toward the Washington Monument.

Sources: Architect of the Capitol, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, and U.S. Senate.