Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/884685
17 THE FIRST DoME: A CHAnGE In THoRnTon'S oRIGInAl DESIGn Dr. Thornton's winning Capitol design of 1793 was capped by a low and gracious neoclassical dome that echoed the lines of the historic Pantheon in Rome, dedi- cated almost 1,700 years earlier in 125 CE. It sat com- fortably as a well-proportioned and integral part of the Capitol. Although Washington lauded this design for its "grandeur, simplicity and beauty," its construction had been deferred for a quarter of a century while funding was provided first for the design and construction of the north Senate wing and then the south wing for the House of Representatives. During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the Second Architect of the Capitol, had already proposed the major design refinement of raising Thornton's graceful dome on an octagonal drum to avoid creating an incompatible intersection with the adjacent pediment. He also favored Greek neoclassi- cal forms to the Roman models preferred by Thornton. They became vituperative enemies; their feud resulted in a libel case which Latrobe ultimately won. In 1818 the noted architect Charles Bulfinch was brought from Boston as the Third Architect of the Capitol to replace Latrobe, who had recently resigned in frus- tration due to conflicts with the Commissioner of Public Buildings. Latrobe filed for bankruptcy and returned to Baltimore penniless. Bulfinch was appointed to com- plete construction of those first Capitol wings, and was then also asked to begin developing detailed plans for the Capitol's central section and dome. Thornton's Parthe- non-like dome ultimately was never built, serving only as the conceptual starting point for Charles Bulfinch. THE SEConD DoME: A PRESIDEnT'S TASTE Bulfinch's initial Dome designs were based on Thornton's original approved design, with the addition of Latrobe's octagonal drum modification. Unfortunately he "found his professional judgment overruled by those in charge for reasons at odds with his taste and experience . . . . [He] wrote philosophically: 'Architects expect criticism and must learn to bear it patiently.'" 4 Due to President James Monroe's insistence and the Congress's concur- rence, he redesigned the Dome to be some 70 feet higher, in order to obtain the visibility desired for the Capitol on top of Jenkins Hill. While yielding to the president's pressure for a much higher Dome, Bulfinch then created an inner dome preserving Thornton's vision of a 96' interior height to complement the 96' diameter wall of the Rotunda space, the same interior proportions achieved at the Pantheon. This grand rotunda concept was not universally sup- ported. Some considered the space to be wasteful, with talk of eliminating the Rotunda in favor of creating additional committee rooms. Fortunately Bulfinch was able to solve the problem by creating a plan that took "advantage of the sloping hill on which it was to be built, rising four stories on the west while remaining three stories on the east. A new ground floor in the western projection could provide twelve committee rooms and Fig. 6. The three major stages of the Dome's evolution are on display in this unique montage of images, created by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society to commemorate the bicentennial of the laying of the Capitol's cornerstone in 1793. THE CAPITOL DOME