The Capitol is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. Begun in 1793, the Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored.
Star-Spangled Site: The wooden dome of the state house, the largest in the U.S., was used as an observation station for British movements on the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.
In one of the largest barter transactions in recorded history, the builders of the capitol were paid with over three-million acres of public land in the Texas Panhandle.
Did you know? Washington's portrait in the Senate Chamber is the oldest artifact in the Capitol. It's a copy of Gilbert Stuart's portrait (which appears on the $1 bill) painted by his daughter, Jane. Read more.
