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The Rotunda is a large, domed, circular room located in the center of the U.S. Capitol.
As it appears today, the U.S. Capitol Rotunda is the result of two distinct building campaigns. Dr. William Thornton, who won the competition for the design of the U.S. Capitol in 1793, conceived the idea of a central rotunda. Due to a shortage of funds and materials, sporadic construction phases, and the fire set by the British in 1814, the Capitol Rotunda was not begun until 1818.

The Rotunda was completed under the direction of Charles Bulfinch by the time of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. Conceived in the age of neoclassicism, the Rotunda was intended to recall the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple. Bulfinch created in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda an ambitious orchestration of architecture, sculpture and painting

As it appears today, the U.S. Capitol Rotunda is the result of two distinct building campaigns. Dr. William Thornton, who won the competition for the design of the U.S. Capitol in 1793, conceived the idea of a central rotunda. Due to a shortage of funds and materials, sporadic construction phases, and the fire set by the British in 1814, the Capitol Rotunda was not begun until 1818.

The Rotunda was completed under the direction of Charles Bulfinch by the time of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. Conceived in the age of neoclassicism, the Rotunda was intended to recall the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple. Bulfinch created in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda an ambitious orchestration of architecture, sculpture and painting.


A Walk Through the U.S. Capitol Rotunda
The curved sandstone walls are divided by fluted Doric pilasters with wreaths of olive branches carved in the frieze above. The floor is composed of concentric rings of waxed Seneca Sandstone arrayed around a central circular white marble slab. Individual stones have been replaced as needed since their installation.

The space is used for important ceremonial events as authorized by concurrent resolution, such as the lying in state of eminent citizens and the dedication of works of art.

Historical Paintings

Four revolutionary period scenes were commissioned by Congress from John Trumbull in 1817 and placed in the Rotunda between 1819 and 1824:

Declaration of Independence
Surrender of General Burgoyne
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
General George Washington Resigning his Commission
Four scenes of early exploration were added between 1840 and 1855:

Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn
Discovery of the Mississippi by William Powell
Baptism of Pocahontas by John Chapman
Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Weir
Relief Sculpture

Four wreathed panels above the paintings frame portrait busts of early explorers:

John Cabot by Enrico Causici and Antonio Capellano
Christopher Columbus by Enrico Causici and Antonio Capellano
Sir Walter Raleigh by Francisco Iardella
Sieur de La Salle by Enrico Causici and Antonio Capellano
In the relief panels above the four entrances are scenes from American colonial history:

Conflict of Daniel Boone and the Indians by Enrico Causici
Landing of the Pilgrims by Enrico Causici
Preservation of Captain Smith by Pocahontas by Antonio Capellano
William Penn's Treaty with the Indians by Nicholas Gevelot
Dome, Apotheosis and Frieze

The sandstone walls of the Rotunda rise 48 feet above the floor. Everything above this line was added between 1855 and 1866 by Thomas U. Walter, who designed the north and south extensions of the Capitol Building. Congress authorized the new high dome of fireproof cast iron to bring the center portion of the U.S. Capitol into harmony with the large new wings.

Walter's 1859 section of the new dome and enlarged Rotunda showed a fresco in the canopy over the eye of the inner dome and a sculpted frieze at the base of the dome. Constantino Brumidi painted The Apotheosis of Washington in true fresco on the canopy in 1865. The figures, up to 15 feet tall, were painted to be intelligible from close up as well as from 180 feet below.

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