Existing comment:
Built in Stages:
By the time of this engraving, architects Stephen Hallet, George Hadfield, James Hoban, and Benjamin Henry Latrobe had all left their imprints on the Capitol as superintendents of construction as well as architects. William Thornton oversaw the initial construction of the north, or Senate, wing (at right) during his tenure as one of the three DC Commissioners beginning in 1794, ensuring that later architects were bound to follow his design for the corresponding south, or House wing (left). This engraving lacks the central rotunda because it was yet to be built.
The Capitol at Washington, 1808
Engraving, The Country Seats of the United States of North America |