Capitol Building

Have you ever been to the capital building? I have.

What's really amazing about Washington D.C, is how old the buildings are. Construction on the U.S. Capitol began in 1793! That's over 218 years ago! 218 years and the building is still in use today--can you believe that?!!

The U.S. Capitol is where congress, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate, meet. Also, it's where most of the federal laws in our country are written, discussed and voted on.  In its early days, the Capitol building was not only used for governmental functions, but for other things, too. Like on Sundays, church services were regularly held there. I think the Capital building is really awesome.

Did you know how the White House was burned during the war of 1812? Well, the Capitol was too. That's why in the early 1800's they reconstructed it. That's also when they began adding the first dome, and the center rotunda. The house and senate wings were added in the 1850's, because that's when it became clear that there needed to be more space for all of the congressmen. They also rebuilt the dome in the 1850's because the 1818 dome was made of wood, which wouldn't have lasted over the years. Wow! That's a lot of rebuilding!!

They wanted to keep the Capitol strong, and beautiful, so there was another reconstruction in 1958. Which is probably why buildings in Washington D.C last so long. Someone is always fixing them and repairing them to keep them up. The East front had to be completely rebuilt because the old columns weren't able to support enough weight anymore. Then a landscape designer named Russel page created a new place for them in a large meadow at the National Arboretum. It was only a couple of Miles away, and now they stand with a reflecting pool and tall grasses. It's kind of like an ancient ruin of a Greek city.

Quack Report:

I was hoping that my quack would echo nicely off the water and boy did it ever! It was a great echo. One of my best yet!!