United States Capitol

The United States Capitol building features a white cast iron dome that rises two hundred and eighty-eight feet above the National Mall. Congress drafted the blueprint for the nation here, and the building serves as the meeting place for the legislative branch. In eighteen fourteen, British troops burned the structure, leaving only the exterior walls standing. William Thornton designed the original core, but the dome listeners see today arrived decades later, replacing a smaller wooden version that posed a constant fire hazard.