Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433760
THE CAPITOL DOME 25 Madison Capitol lies a powerful story of human drama, con- flict, determination, and genius. I will try to give a quick over- view of the backstory here as a way of introducing my research and explaining the drawings I've created. T h e F i r s t D e c a d e o f t h e U . S . C a p i t o l The cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol was laid by George Washington in September 1793. Washington and Secretary of State omas Jefferson envisioned a Capitol that would repre- sent the political, philosophical, and architectural aspirations of the world's first modern democratic republic. In Jefferson's romantic ideal, the building also would reflect the ancient monuments of Greece and Rome 1 and be a world-class con- temporary of its European counterparts. e plan was to have Congress occupy the Capitol in 1800. As soon as the ambitious building program was underway however, the plan began to unravel. e man who had won the competition for the Capitol's design, Dr. William ornton, did not execute the project due to his lack of real architectural knowledge and experience. e three architects who executed the work during the 1790s were Frenchman Étienne Sulpice Hallet (later known as Stephen Hallet when he settled in the United States), Englishman George Hadfield, and Irishman James Hoban. e building's progress during the years of the Washington and Adams administrations was marked by changes of plan, ill will among principals and city commission - ers, difficult logistics in the newly laid out city, and generally shoddy workmanship. By 1800 only the North Wing (fig. 1), the Senate side of the building, was complete. In 1801, the House of Representatives Fig. 1. Watercolor view of the North Wing of the Capitol by omas Birch (ca. 1800). L IBR ARY OF CONGRE S S PRIN T S AND PHOTO GR APHS DIVISION