The great white dome rises at the end of the Mall, every column and step gleaming. Inside the Rotunda, you crane your neck at the dome far above.

The building

The United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall, is the seat of Congress. Its central sections were finished in 1800, when the 6th Congress first met there on 17 November. British forces partly burned it in 1814 during the burning of Washington, and it was restored within five years. The wings grew as more states joined the Union, with the House in the south wing and the Senate in the north. The cast-iron dome, designed by Thomas Ustick Walter in the 1850s, was completed around 1866, just after the Civil War. The Capitol is also the origin point of Washington's street numbering and its four quadrants.

Visiting

The Capitol Visitor Center is open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Saturday, and the last tour starts at 3:20 pm. All tours are free and led by guides; reservations are recommended, though same-day passes may be available. Arrive at least 60 minutes early for security. The old House chamber, used from 1807 to 1857, is now Statuary Hall.

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  Rotunda Under the great dome.
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  Statuary Hall The old House chamber.
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  West front Where presidents are inaugurated.
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  Grant Memorial At the foot of Capitol Hill.