Capitol, United States, is the building where Congress meets. It stands on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Besides serving as a government office building, the Capitol is a symbol of the United States. Each year, millions of people visit the Capitol. Rooms open to the public include the chambers where the House of Representatives and the Senate meet.
The Capitol was built in the Neoclassical style, derived from the architecture of ancient Rome. The building consists of two wings that extend north and south of a central section. A huge cast-iron dome rests on the central section of the building. The dome’s white-painted surface blends with the white marble exterior of most of the rest of the Capitol. On top of the dome stands the Statue of Freedom. The statue is 191/2 feet (5.9 meters) high. It is the figure of a woman wearing a headdress of eagle feathers and holding a sword and shield. The distance from the top of the statue to the ground is almost 300 feet (91 meters).
The Capitol has approximately 540 rooms, including offices and reception rooms. Many rooms hold mementos of U.S. history as well as paintings and sculptures by some of the country’s greatest artists. The grand Rotunda, the center of the Capitol, consists of the circular area under the dome. It is more than 95 feet (29 meters) in diameter and over 183 feet (56 meters) high. The focal point of the Rotunda is the ceiling under the dome, which is decorated by the fresco The Apotheosis of George Washington (1865), by the Italian painter Constantino Brumidi. State funerals for famous U.S. citizens have taken place in the Rotunda. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were honored in this way.
The Senate wing of the Capitol extends north of the Rotunda. This wing houses the Senate Chamber, the room in which the Senate meets. The chamber has galleries where visitors may watch the Senate in session. Another room in this wing, the President’s Room, is one of the most richly decorated rooms. It contains a huge bronze chandelier and portraits of George Washington and his first Cabinet. The Senate side of the Capitol’s central section includes the old Supreme Court chamber, where the court met from 1810 to 1860. This room has been restored to look as it did in 1859.
The House of Representatives wing of the Capitol extends south of the Rotunda. The House wing includes the House Chamber, the room in which the House meets. The House Chamber also has galleries for visitors. The House side of the Capitol’s central section includes Statuary Hall, which exhibits statues of outstanding Americans (see Statuary Hall).
In 1792, the government held a contest for a Capitol design. William Thornton, an American doctor and amateur architect, submitted the winning entry. President George Washington laid the building’s cornerstone in 1793. Congress first met in the Capitol in 1800. In 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the Capitol. Congress began meeting in the Capitol again in 1819. Workers then began building the center part and finished it, except for the dome, in 1829. The House wing was occupied in 1857, and the Senate wing in 1859. The dome was finished in 1865. In 1962, builders completed a 32 1/2-foot (9.9-meter) eastward extension of the Capitol’s central section.
