United States Capitol rotunda

==Design and construction==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2013}}
[[File:US Capitol dome Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|upright|[[United States Capitol dome|Capitol dome]]]] [[File:USA-US Capitol6.JPG|thumb|left|''Frieze of American History'', by [[Constantino Brumidi]], in the Capitol rotunda]]
[[File:USA-US Capitol4.JPG|thumb|left|Many large paintings are exhibited in the rotunda]]
The doctor and architect [[William Thornton]] was the winner of the contest to design the Capitol in 1793. Thornton had first conceived the idea of a central rotunda. However, due to lack of funds or resources, oft-interrupted construction, and the [[Burning of Washington|British attack on Washington]] during the [[War of 1812]], work on the rotunda did not begin until 1818. The rotunda was completed in 1824 under [[Architect of the Capitol]] [[Charles Bulfinch]], as part of a series of new buildings and projects in preparation for the final visit of [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] in 1824. The rotunda was designed in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical style]] and was intended to evoke the design of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]].

The [[sandstone]] rotunda walls rise {{convert|48|ft|m|0}} above the floor; everything above this—the Capitol dome–was designed in 1854 by [[Thomas U. Walter]], the fourth Architect of the Capitol. Walter had also designed the Capitol's north and south extensions. Work on the dome began in 1856, and in 1859, Walter redesigned the rotunda to consist of an inner and outer dome, with a canopy suspended between them that would be visible through an [[Oculus (architecture)|oculus]] at the top of the inner dome. In 1862, Walter asked painter [[Constantino Brumidi]] to design "a picture {{convert|65|ft|m|0}} in diameter, painted in fresco, on the concave canopy over the eye of the New Dome of the U.S. Capitol".  At this time, Brumidi may have added a [[watercolor]] canopy design over Walter's tentative 1859 sketch. The dome was being finished in the middle of the [[American Civil War]] and was constructed from fireproof [[cast iron]]. During the Civil War, the rotunda was used as a [[military hospital]] for [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] soldiers. The dome was finally completed in 1866.

=== The crypt ===
Originally the crypt had an open ceiling into the rotunda. Visitors can still see the holes in the stone circle that marked the rim of the open space in the rotunda floor. Underneath the floor of the crypt lies a tomb that was the intended burial place for George Washington but after a lengthy battle with his estate and the state of Virginia the plans for him to be buried in the crypt were abandoned.<ref name="west moore-p92">{{cite journal | author=West Moore, Joseph | title=Picturesque Washington | date=1884 |page=92}}</ref>

===Renovation===
[[File:United States Capitol under construction May 2016.jpg|thumb|Capitol dome and rotunda under renovation in May 2016]]
In January 2013, the Architect of the Capitol announced a four-year, $10 million project to repair and conserve the Capitol Dome's exterior and the Capitol rotunda. The proposal required the stripping of lead paint from the interior of the dome, repair to the ironwork, repainting of the interior of the dome, rehabilitation of the interstitial space between the dome and rotunda, and installation of new lighting in the interstitial space and the rotunda. The dome and rotunda, which were last conserved in 1960, were showing significant signs of rust and disrepair. There was a danger that decorative ironwork could have fallen from the rotunda to the space below, and that weather-related problems could damage the artwork in the rotunda. Without immediate repair, safety netting was installed, temporarily blocking the rotunda's artwork from view.<ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/01/us-capitol-dome-restoration-kicks.html Neibauer, Michael. "U.S. Capitol Dome Restoration Kicks Off With Contractor Search." ''Washington Business Journal.'' January 31, 2013.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620173849/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/01/us-capitol-dome-restoration-kicks.html |date=June 20, 2017 }} Accessed February 4, 2013.</ref>