Editing United States Capitol (section)

====Capitol dome====
{{Main|United States Capitol dome}}
[[File:LincolnInauguration1861a.jpg|thumb|Inauguration of [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1861, before the partially complete Capitol dome]]

The 1850 expansion more than doubled the length of the United States Capitol; it dwarfed the original, timber-framed, copper-sheeted, low dome of 1818, designed by [[Charles Bulfinch]] which was no longer in proportion with the increased size of the building. In 1855, the decision was made to tear it down and replace it with the "[[wedding-cake style]]" cast-iron dome that stands today. Also designed by [[Thomas U. Walter]], the new dome would stand three times the height of the original dome and {{convert|100|ft}} in diameter, yet had to be supported on the existing masonry piers.

Like [[Jules Hardouin-Mansart|Mansart]]'s dome at [[Les Invalides]] in Paris (which he had visited in 1838), Walter's dome is double, with a large [[Oculus (architecture)|oculus]] in the inner dome, through which is seen ''[[The Apotheosis of Washington]]'' painted on a shell suspended from the supporting ribs, which also support the visible exterior structure and the [[wikt:tholos|tholos]] that supports the ''[[Statue of Freedom]]'', a colossal statue that was raised to the top of the dome in 1863. The statue invokes the goddesses [[Minerva]] or [[Athena]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/thomas-crawford-statue-of-freedom-1855-63/|title = Picturing US History - Thomas Crawford, Statue of Freedom, 1855-63}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/statue-freedom|title = The Statue of Freedom &#124; Architect of the Capitol}}</ref> The [[cast iron]] for the dome weighs {{convert|8909200|lb|kg}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Capitol Dome|url=https://www.aoc.gov/capitol-buildings/capitol-dome|publisher=Architect of the Capitol|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> The dome's [[cast iron frame]] was supplied and constructed by the iron foundry [[Adrian Janes|Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co.]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Terrell|first=Ellen|date=May 20, 2015|title=The Capitol Dome: Janes, Fowler, & Kirtland Co. {{!}} Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2015/05/the-capitol-dome-janes-fowler-kirtland-co/|access-date=August 24, 2021|website=Library of Congress Blogs }}</ref> The thirty-six Corinthian columns that surround the base of the dome were provided by the Baltimore ironworks of [[Robert Poole (industrialist)|Poole & Hunt.]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swett |first=Steven |title=The Metalworkers: Robert Poole, His Ironworks, and Technology in 19th Century America |publisher=Baltimore Museum of Industry |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-578-28250-3 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |pages=85–122}}</ref>

[[File:National Capitol Columns - Washington, D.C..jpg|thumb|[[National Capitol Columns]] at the [[United States National Arboretum|National Arboretum]] in 2008]]

When the Capitol's new dome was finally completed, its massive visual weight, in turn, overpowered the proportions of the columns of the East [[Portico]], built in 1828.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. National Arboretum |url=https://www.usna.usda.gov/discover/gardens-collections/national-capitol-columns/ |access-date=June 14, 2023 |website=www.usna.usda.gov}}</ref>