THE CAPITOL DOME AND ROTUNDA

Architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe labeled the Capitol's rotunda "the Hall of the People" on an 1806 drawing, referring to its function as the building's central public area.

L'Enfant had planned a dome for his "Congress House" located on Jenkins Hill--soon known as Capitol Hill--the highest point in the original federal city. Two domes have identified the Capitol on the city's skyline, both covering the 96-foot-wide rotunda. The first dome was the largest dome yet erected in America, rising 145 feet above ground. The present cast-iron dome, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century, rises 287 feet.

Bulfinch built the rotunda in 1820-22 to be a "Grand Vestibule for Great Public Occasions." It has also served as a museum honoring American heroes and history with artwork recounting the discovery, European settlement, and founding of the new nation.