Visitors and tour guides in the Rotunda (USCHS)

The Rotunda is used for important ceremonial events authorized by concurrent resolution, such as the lying in state of eminent citizens (Rosa Parks in 2005, President Gerald Ford in 2006), ceremonies honoring distinguished individuals or significant events, and the dedication of works of art. Eleven presidents have lain in state in the Rotunda: Abraham Lincoln, James Abram Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Gamaliel Harding, William Howard Taft, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Herbert Clark Hoover, Dwight David Eisenhower, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Ronald Wilson Reagan, and Gerald R. Ford, Jr.

Dr. William Thornton, who won the competition to design the Capitol in 1793, conceived the central rotunda, intending it to recall the ancient Roman Pantheon. Rotunda construction did not begin until 1818; it was finished in 1824 under Architect of the Capitol Charles Bulfinch. As part of the addition to the Capitol in the 1850s, the Architect of the Capitol Extension Thomas U. Walter designed a new dome that greatly enlarged the rotunda.

Notable events in the Rotunda include the 1824 reception for General Lafayette, the attempted assassination of Andrew Jackson in 1835, and the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in 1985. The Rotunda briefly served as a barracks and hospital for Union troops during the Civil War.

Eight framed niches hold large historical paintings.  In 1817 four Revolutionary era scenes were commissioned by Congress from American artist John Trumbull.  Four scenes of early exploration were added between 1840 and 1855.

The painted frieze that encircles the Rotunda 58 feet above the floor is 300 feet in circumference.  The frieze is the work of three artists, Constantino Brumidi (initial design sketch in 1859, painting of first eight scenes begun in 1878), Filippo Costaggini (completion of eighth scene and painting of scenes 9-16 finished in 1889), and Allyn Cox (painting of last three scenes commissioned in 1951 and completed in 1953). The frieze’s 19 scenes include an allegorical depiction of America and History and 18 historical events from the Landing of Columbus to The Birth of Aviation.

Constantino Brumidi painted the fresco The Apotheosis of Washington in the “canopy” seen through the eye of the inner dome 180 feet above the floor. “Apotheosis” means the glorification of a person as an ideal.  Brumidi depicted Washington rising to the heavens in glory. Six groups of figures line the perimeter: War, Science, Marine, Commerce, Mechanics, and Agriculture.  These groups combine allegorical figures, Roman gods and goddesses, and notable Americans.