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Displaying 121 - 150 of 536 Clear

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Washington, 1800

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
Only the north (Senate) wing of the U.S. Capitol Building was ready for the Congress by 1800. As construction continued on the rest of the building, this wing accommodated the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the district courts.

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Washington, 1814

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
In August 1814, during the War of 1812, invading British troops burned the U.S. Capitol and other buildings in Washington. That fall, Congress met in the Patent Office building (now the National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum).

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Philadelphia, 1790

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
Following passage of the "Residence Act," which required the government to move to a new city on the Potomac River in 1800, Congress moved to Philadelphia for a 10-year stay at Congress Hall.

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New York, 1785

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
The Congress returned to New York's old City Hall in 1785, 20 years after the meeting of state delegates in that building. Here, in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated president and the first Congress under the Constitution was convened.

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Trenton, 1784

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
In November and December 1784 the Congress met in the French Arms tavern in Trenton, New Jersey.

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Princeton, 1783

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
In the summer of 1783 Congress moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where it met in Nassau Hall of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

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Annapolis, 1783

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
The next congressional meeting place was the State House in Annapolis, Maryland. It was here that George Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

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York, 1777

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
After leaving Baltimore the Congress met briefly in Philadelphia but soon moved to York, Pennsylvania, where it met for nine months in the old Court House.

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Baltimore, 1776

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
The Congress moved to Baltimore, Maryland, a safer haven during the war than Philadelphia, after the Declaration of Independence. It met in this rented building, since known as Old Congress House; the building was destroyed by fire in 1860.

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Philadelphia, 1775

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
On July 4, 1776, delegates to the second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia's State House, now known as Independence Hall.

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Philadelphia, 1774

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
The first Continental Congress met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they agreed to suspend trade with Great Britain.

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New York, 1765

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
The Old City Hall in New York was the meeting place for delegates from nine colonies, who drew up a Declaration of Rights.

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Albany, 1754

By Sarah Davis
| June 5, 2023
At the old Stadt Huys in Albany, New York, colonial representatives devised a plan for a union of the colonies. The plan was ultimately rejected, but it became a guide for the later federal government.
Artifacts on a table.

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First Cornerstone

By Sarah Davis
| June 2, 2023
Contemporary Masonic practice included the laying of an inscribed metal plate along with a cornerstone. Caleb Bentley, a Quaker clockmaker and silversmith who lived in Georgetown not far from Suter's Fountain Inn, where the commissioners held their meetings, made the silver plate for the Capitol

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New Dome Symbolizes Union, 1863

By Sarah Davis
| May 25, 2023
Thomas U. Walter, who was hired as architect of the Capitol extensions in 1851, also designed the building's new cast-iron dome. In this mural Walter (center, in brown coat and top hat) shows his dome design to President Abraham Lincoln. About the Cox Corridors Murals The first floor of the U.S

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Rotunda During Civil War, 1862

By Sarah Davis
| May 25, 2023
For about six weeks in the fall of 1862 the Rotunda (as well as other chambers and hallways) was used as an emergency hospital. Among the nurses who served here were Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, later the founder of the American Red Cross. About the Cox Corridors Murals The first floor of the U.S

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First Capitol Inauguration, 1829

By Sarah Davis
| May 25, 2023
Andrew Jackson, the first president to be inaugurated outdoors at the Capitol, is shown taking the oath from Chief Justice John Marshall. This ceremony on the east front portico began a tradition observed by most presidents until 1981, when inaugurations were moved to the west front. About the Cox
Bronze statue of a person standing holding plants.

Basic page

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Representation in Art

By Sarah Davis
| May 23, 2023
This list includes works in the collections under the care of the Architect of the Capitol, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and is not exhaustive.

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Senate Librarian Leona Faust Tree

By Sarah Davis
| May 16, 2023
U.S. Capitol Grounds memorial tree to honor the life and service of Senate Librarian Leona Faust sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

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Corinthian Columns

By Sarah Davis
| April 28, 2023
Corinthian columns are the most ornate, slender and sleek of the three Greek orders.

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Ionic Columns

By Sarah Davis
| April 28, 2023
The Ionic column is typically identified by its capital, which includes large paired spiral scrolls, or volutes.

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Doric Columns

By Sarah Davis
| April 28, 2023
Doric columns typically have a simple, rounded capital at the top; a heavy, fluted or smooth column shaft; and no base. Flutes are vertical, parallel channels that run the length of a column.

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Bronze Railings of the Members' Private Staircases

By Sarah Davis
| March 24, 2023
During the mid-19th-century expansion of the U.S. Capitol, which added the House and Senate extensions, four private staircases were installed to allow representatives and senators to move quickly between their second-floor chambers and the building's first floor. Two are located near the House
Person standing at podium with flags behind.

Basic page

African American Artists

By Sarah Davis
| March 6, 2023
Examples of African American artists with works featured in the United States Capitol and congressional office buildings.
View looking up at ceiling lights, columns and the flag of the United States.

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Strategic Objectives

By Sarah Davis
| February 9, 2023
Accomplishing these initiatives is critical to laying the foundation for the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) long-term success and providing a governance framework that supports effective management. Each strategic objective aligns with multiple strategic goals.

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Civil Rights Bill Passes, 1866

By Sarah Davis
| February 2, 2023
The 1866 civil rights bill, which prohibited discrimination on the bases of race or previous condition of slavery, prefigured the 14th amendment to the Constitution. In the foreground of the mural, former slave Henry Garnet is shown speaking with newspaper editor Horace Greeley, who supported

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Washington's Inauguration, 1789

By Sarah Davis
| January 20, 2023
George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York. The mural depicts (from left to right) Robert R. Livingston, chancellor of the state of New York, administering the oath; Secretary of the Senate Samuel Otis holding the

Basic page

Performance & Accountability Report

| December 13, 2022
The Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) annual Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) provides the results of the AOC's financial performance each fiscal year (FY). It demonstrates the AOC's commitment to the accomplishment of its mission and accountability for its financial resources to the

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Lincoln Catafalque

By Sarah Davis
| December 7, 2022
The Lincoln catafalque is a platform constructed in 1865 to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln while the president's body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. It is a simple base of rough pine boards nailed together and covered with black cloth.

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Corncob or Cornstalk Columns and Capitals

By Sarah Davis
| September 14, 2022
Some of the oldest and most famous interior features of the Capitol are located near the entrance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber. These six corncob columns, designed ca. 1808 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, are among the most unusual and significant architectural works of the early Republic.

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