The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Although no longer at the geographic center of the national capital, the U.S. Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants. Like the principal buildings of the executive and judicial branches, the Capitol is built in a neoclassical style and has a white exterior.
The National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the Rotunda. The meeting place of the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 50 years (1807–1857), after a few years of disuse it was repurposed as a statuary hall in 1864; this is when the National Statuary Hall Collection was established. By 1933, the collection had outgrown this single room, and a number of statues are placed elsewhere within the Capitol.
Francis Preston Blair Jr. was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Army major general during the American Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and was active in preventing the state of Missouri from being absorbed into the Confederacy at the beginning of the war.
Francis Preston Blair Sr. was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and influential figure in national politics advising several U.S. presidents across party lines.
Karl Theodore Francis Bitter was an Austrian-born American sculptor best known for his architectural sculpture, memorials and residential work.
The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is a large underground addition to the United States Capitol complex which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the U.S. Congress. Opened in 2008, it is located on 1st Street East below the landscaped tree-shaded grounds of the East Front of the Capitol and included the development of the surface plaza. Additional, transparent skylights also punctuate the surface plaza to allow light into the center. The complex contains 580,000 square feet (54,000 m2) of space below ground on three levels. The overall project's budget was $621 million dollars.
Franklin Bachelder Simmons was a prominent American sculptor of the nineteenth century. Three of his statues are in the National Statuary Hall Collection, three of his busts are in the United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection, and his statue of Ulysses S. Grant is in the United States Capitol Rotunda.
The Hall of Columns is a more than 100-foot-long (30 m) hallway lined with 28 fluted columns in the south wing extension of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It is also the gallery for 18 statues of the National Statuary Hall Collection.
Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor.
Alexander H. Stephens is a marble sculpture commemorating the American politician of the same name by Gutzon Borglum, installed in the United States Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The statue was gifted by the state of Georgia in 1927.
William Henry Harrison Beadle is a bronze sculpture depicting the American soldier, lawyer, educator and administrator of the same name by H. Daniel Webster, installed in the United States Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The statue was gifted by the U.S. state of South Dakota in 1938.
Thomas Hart Benton is a marble sculpture depicting the Senator from Missouri of the same name by Alexander Doyle, formerly installed at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The statue was gifted by the U.S. state of Missouri in 1899.
John Burke is a bronze sculpture depicting the American politician of the same name by Avard Fairbanks, installed at the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall, in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The statue was gifted by the U.S. state of North Dakota in 1963.
The National Statuary Hall Collection holds statues donated by each of the United States, portraying notable persons in the histories of the respective states. Displayed in the National Statuary Hall and other parts of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., the collection includes two statues from each state, except for Virginia which currently has one, making a total of 99.
Jacob Collamer is a marble statue of Jacob Collamer by Preston Powers, installed in the United States Capitol, in Washington D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. It is one of two statues donated by the state of Vermont. The statue was accepted in the collection by Alexander H. Stephens in 1881.
John E. Kenna is a 1901 marble sculpture of the American politician of the same name by Alexander Doyle, installed in the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. It is one of two statues donated by the state of West Virginia.
Francis Harrison Pierpont is a 1910 marble sculpture of Francis Harrison Pierpont by Franklin Simmons installed in the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. It is one of two statues donated by the state of West Virginia. The sculpture was unveiled by the Hon. Thomas Condit Miller, on April 27, 1937.
There are several works of art in the United States Capitol honoring former leaders of the Confederate States of America and generals in the Confederate States Army, including six statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, busts and portraits.
The United States Capitol displays public artworks by a variety of artists, including the National Statuary Hall Collection and United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection.
