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the free zone on the opposite bank. An architectural mixture of late Gothic and early Renais-
sance, Chateau Chenonceau and its gardens are open to the public. Other than the Royal Palace
of Versailles, Chenonceau is the most visited chateau in France.
UNITED STATES CAPITOL
Copied dozens of times in smaller state capitols across the country, the U.S. Capitol is the
real thing. Inside this 19th century neoclassical complex the Senate and the House of Represen-
tatives create the laws that govern the nation. Like many other buildings in Washington, DC –
and in capitals around the world – the U.S. Capitol is based on ancient Greek and Roman de-
signs.
The south wing of the building contains the chambers of the House of Representatives. The
north wing is home to the Senate. They meet at the Rotunda, under a grand dome, famed for its
odd acoustics and less so for its 108 windows. The dome is 180 feet three inches tall and 96 feet
wide on the inside. On the outside, it is topped by the Statue of Freedom. Beneath the dome is
the National Statuary Hall, which contains some of the nation's most important paintings and
sculptures of significant historic figures. Above, the dome is decorated with a fresco called
"The Apotheosis of Washington" by Constantino Brumidi.
Before this was an open area for public gathering and formal ceremonies, it once served as
the chamber of the House. Before then, it was just a wooden passageway. Construction of the
capitol was perpetually behind schedule, and no part of the building was completed before it
was occupied by various government offices. By 1813 there was a north wing and a south wing,
but not much else except the aforementioned wooden passageway. The architect at the time left
town proclaiming the capitol "a most magnificent ruin."
The British thought it needed to be ruined a little more, and tried to burn the place down in
1814. Damage was sufficient that congress had to relocate to a hotel, and then a temporary
building now known as the "Old Brick Capitol." This wasn't the first catastrophe to befall the
building. In 1898 a gas explosion and fire ripped through the north wing.
The Capitol sits 88 feet above the Potomac River level on 120.2 acres of land formerly part
of the state of Maryland. Daniel Carroll of Duddington was paid £25 an acre for the land. Be-
fore it was Maryland, the District of Columbia was part of the territory of the Manahoacs and
Monacans sub tribes of the Algonquin Indians.
The Capitol building has been through a number of architects for a number of reasons. Poli-
tics, money, and the simple passage of time caused many men's great ambitions and dreams to
come into vogue then fade as political fortunes changed. The first major expansion of the capi-
tol was planned in 1850 because the addition of new states meant new senators, representatives,
and their staffs.
Thomas U. Walter was charged with the project, and he undertook the task of expanding the
north and south wings and replacing the original 1824 wood and copper dome with one made of
cast iron. This dome had the advantage of being fireproof, but the disadvantage of weighing
8,909,200 pounds. It is supported by 5,214,000 pounds of masonry on top of the Rotunda walls.
The wood from the old dome was burned to power steam derricks to lift the new dome. The
new dome had to be redesigned when the Statue of Freedom arrived from Rome. Instead of be-
ing 16 feet nine inches tall, it was 19 feet six inches tall. The platform it sits on had to be wid-
ened and the overall dome height reduced from 300 feet to 287 feet.
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