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29 Fig. 4. Detail of B.H. Latrobe's planned rotunda in 1806 as the "Hall of the People." descending to the crypt (fig. 4). The niches were present on Latrobe's 1806 plan—which identified the rotunda's function as the "Hall of the People"—and the ground floor plan he submitted to President James Monroe on 2 May 1817 (fig. 5). Trumbull suggested that the frames of his paintings rest on the cornices of the doors that car- ried across the springing of the niche's arches, which he assumed were intended for sculpture (fig. 6). Latrobe responded that the paintings would be too high for visi- tors to appreciate, suggesting instead that each frame be curved, its sides built out from the wall to accommodate the rotunda's curvature. Setting the frames into the wall (lined with cedar planks to reduce moisture) was also considered. Latrobe resigned on 20 November 1817, before architect and painter arrived at a viable solution. 4 Bulfinch applied to Monroe to be appointed as Latrobe's successor on November 26 and took up his appointment at the beginning of December, although the formalities were not concluded until early January 1818. Bulfinch's relatively placid tenure as Architect of the Capitol was markedly different from Latrobe's tumultu- ous one. His 22 years of experience on Boston's board of selectmen (the last 18 of which, as its chairman) pre- pared him for the highly charged political atmosphere of Congress, and he kept a low profile. Latrobe was an ardent Jeffersonian Republican; Bulfinch was a New England Federalist (as was Trumbull). Bulfinch's mild personality was the opposite of Latrobe's vibrant one. Latrobe's reports to Congress were replete with detailed explanations about his architectural decisions; Bulfinch recorded what had been accomplished and how much it cost. Latrobe resigned because malicious accusations spread among congressmen (and to Monroe) by Commis- sioner Samuel Lane were too difficult for him to refute or to bear while grieving over the recent death of his old- est son. Bulfinch, who could foresee the end of work in Boston, economically crippled by the Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812, was delighted to have a secure posi- tion in Washington for himself and possibly for his sons. When Bulfinch was summarily dismissed in 1829, he as well did not feel his work on the Capitol was complete. 5 In 1900 Washington architect Glenn Brown published THE CAPITOL DOME