Existing comment:
Extension Mezzanine West:
Although Thomas Jefferson designed the Capitol to be built on a low base, other members of Virginia's Committee on Public Buildings decided to enlarge the base and create an additional story of usable office space. To provide access, light, and ventilation to the new offices under the Portico, a central door and flanking windows were inserted on the Capitol's south side. The steps that Jefferson had envisioned leading up to the Portico would not be installed until the renovations of 1904-06. |