Inventing the Capitol Building
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The U.S. Capitol building, the worldwide symbol of American democracy, got its beginnings on a piece of paper on the Caribbean island of Tortola, sketched out by a temperamental doctor in his early 30s. William Thornton's "Tortola Scheme" sketch laid the groundwork for a building that has expanded with the nation, growing from the original bid for a modest 15-room brick building into a complex covering 1.5 million square feet with more than 600 rooms and miles of hallways over a ground area of about 4 acres.
Posted in: African American History, Architecture, Capitol Hill, Civil War, Congress, LCM, Library Work and Employees, Manuscripts, Prints and Photographs Division, Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Presidents, Washington DC
