tol in ashes. On August 24, 1814, British troops set fire to the Capitol, and only a sudden rainstorm prevented its complete destruction. In 1815, Latrobe was rehired to restore the Capitol. In addition to making repairs, he took advantage of this opportunity to make further changes in the building's interior design by adding an enlargment onto the Senates chamber. He also replaced the sandstone interior in marble. With construction delays and costs running over the budget Latrobe resigned from his post in November 1817.(AOC.gov) On January 8, 1818,Charles Bulfinch, was appointed in Latrobe's place as the new architect. Continuing the restoration of the north and south wings, he was able to make the chambers for the Supreme Court, the House, and the Senate ready for use by 1819. Work on the central dome section of the capitol was ready to begin.(AOC.gov)The center section of our nation's capitol "The Great Rotunda" was designed by Thomas U. Walter in 1793. The actual director of the construction was Charles Bulfinch. Conceived in the age of neoclassicism, the Rotunda was intended to recall the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple. The sandstone walls raise to 48 feet above the marble floors. The interior of the Rotunda contains many works of art, including paintings that chronologically date the history of our nation. Also many statues of past presidents are included, like the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln. The center of the Capitol was to be finished by 1824 to accomedate the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette.(AOC.gov) Mounting the Great Rotunda is a huge cast-iron dome. The dome of the United States Capitol may well be the most famous man-made landmark in America. There haveactually been two domes in the history of our capitol building. The Capitol's first dome was finished in 1824 to the design of Charles Bulfinch, made of wood covered in copper. Yet it was replaced like everything in our capitol's head...
