Washington, US Capitol

A competition was held for the design of the Capitol which was won by William Thornton in 1793. His design was inspired by the east front of the Louvre, as well as the Pantheon for the center portion of the design. The original design was revised by Thornton and Stephen Hallet. The revised design was later modified by Benjamin Latrobe and then Charles Bulfinch. The current dome and the House and Senate wings were designed by Thomas U. Walter and August Schoenborn and were completed under the supervision of Edward Clark.
Not long after the completion of both wings, the Capitol was partially burned by the British during the War of 1812. Reconstruction began in 1815 and was completed by 1819.
The building was greatly expanded in the 1850s. The original timber-framed dome was replaced by the present cast-iron dome which is three times the height of the original dome. Further extensions and alterations to the Capitol continued into the last century.

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