United States Capitol Under Construction

Description

Pencil and ink drawing of "United States Capitol Under Construction", 1806, from the Latrobe Sketchbooks, by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The construction of the U.S. Capitol building commenced in 1793. In 1800, the north wing was largely finished and both the House of Representatives and the Senate occupied the cramped space. In 1803, Latrobe was hired as Architect of the Capitol and he commenced work on the south wing, which was completed in 1807. This partial sketch shows the completed north wing at right, a partially complete south wing, and numerous stones and supplies spread across the yard in front of the building.