Navigate to Homepage
Search
Main navigation
  

        
              Explore the Capitol Campus
                          Art
                            Buildings & Grounds
                            Capitol Hill Facts
                            Visitor Resources
                            Our Blog
                            What We Do
                          Areas of Expertise
                            Programs & Ceremonies
                            Projects
                            Publications
                            Strategic Objectives
                            About Us
                          Who We Are
                            History of the AOC
                            News & Notices
                            Organizational Structure
                            Partnerships & Recognition
                            Work With UsSearch Breadcrumb
    HomeExplore the Capitol CampusBuildings & GroundsU.S. Capitol BuildingHouse Wing
Small House Rotunda
        
                  Buildings and grounds
  

        
              U.S. Capitol Building
                                        Capitol Dome
                                                Capitol Rotunda
                                                Capitol Subway System
                                                Crypt
                                                House Wing
                                                Senate Wing
                                                U.S. Capitol Grounds
                                                U.S. Capitol Visitor CenterThe Basics
      
Location
    House (south) wing, U.S. Capitol

AOC Jurisdiction
    Capitol BuildingThe Small House Rotunda is one of the most architecturally significant spaces in the U.S. Capitol.

It was designed in 1804 by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe during his first building campaign after he was appointed by Thomas Jefferson to construct the south wing of the Capitol Building.

In the south wing, Latrobe created a progression of spaces from the entrance door on the first floor up a grand staircase to the small rotunda in front of the principal doorway leading into the Hall of the House (now called National Statuary Hall). Once his design was approved by Jefferson, it was built in 1806–1807.

The spaces have Seneca stone flooring and sandstone columns. The vaulting is simple and majestic. The columns and their capitals are fine examples of the Greek order. The capitals are based on those at the Tower of the Winds in Athens, whose design was widely published in the 1765 edition of Antiquities of Athens by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett. The decorations are in the neoclassical style, placing these rooms among the earliest uses of the style in America. Fortunately, this space was not damaged when British troops burned the Capitol in 1814, and today it is one of the oldest rooms in the U.S. Capitol. Coffers with rosettes decorate the dome. Both the stairwell and the small rotunda were lighted by a lantern, a small circular turret ringed with windows that originally admitted natural light and air to the corridors below.

In the mid-1820s the architect Charles Bulfinch, reacting to complaints from the members of the House of Representatives that their wing (unlike the Senate's) had no marble staircase, set about to retrofit a circular staircase into a square space. He removed the wall and columns on the south and the low wall and windows on the west circa 1828, unfortunately disrupting the symmetry of the room, and he created the “shell” on the south wall of the stairwell as ornamentation. In the small rotunda area Bulfinch created two scalloped niches for statuary. The sandstone columns were originally painted white. As a result of an 1898 gas explosion on the Senate side, which did extensive damage, Architect of the Capitol Elliott Woods rebuilt the roof over the old north and south wings, helping to make the building fireproof by replacing the wooden structure with steel.

In a 1907 effort to restore the historic appearance of the corridors, crypt and small rotunda, Elliott Woods removed the plaster and paint from the brick walls; imitation sandstone was applied in their place on the House side in about 1915. This easily maintained surface did not require yearly painting. Over the subsequent years, the areas have been painted in different color schemes depending on the fashion of the time. The current paint scheme in the small House rotunda dates from 1990s and was selected by senior staff members.

Currently lighting this circular staircase is a large three-tier, 30-arm bronze chandelier with heavily frosted hurricane shades. Made by Wibes Manufacturing Company, it was installed as part of the improved illumination program of 1960–1962. It can be raised and lowered by an electric winch for cleaning. The small House rotunda is lit by a 21-arm Williamsburg colonial-style brass chandelier that holds electric "candles." This and a matching chandelier in the ground-floor space are two of fourteen transferred from the Supreme Court Building in 1963–1964.

In this space are displayed sculptures spanning two centuries. On the lower level is the bust of Lajos Kossuth by Csaba Kur (placed in 1987). The bust of George Washington by Antonio Capellano at the foot of the circular stairs was originally placed over the East Front door in 1827. Lincoln the Legislator by Avard Fairbanks stands to the right of the doors.

The bronze Amateis doors displayed on the north wall were designed for the main central entrance of the Capitol’s West Front. Sculpted by Louis Amateis (1855–1913), they were cast by the Roman Bronze Works in New York and were completed in 1910, but they could not be placed at the Capitol because the legislation for the improvement of the west front was not enacted. The doors were exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art for four years and then displayed at the Smithsonian Institution’s Natural History Building from 1914 to 1967. They were then returned to the Capitol and stored until 1972, when they were placed in their present location near the Memorial Door (then called the Document Door).
          
    
      Image Gallery
    
    Interior of a building.
    Interior of a building.
    Interior of a building.
    Interior of a building.
    Interior of a building.

      Previous Image
        Next Image

          Interior of a building.
      Interior of a building.
      Interior of a building.
      Interior of a building.
      Interior of a building.
Image
    Sculpture.
  The Art Collection
        Sir Winston Churchill Bust
        The bust of Sir Winston Churchill is the third estate cast made from a life model that was created in the 1950s. The tributes carved on the pedestal are "Statesman, Honorary U.S. Citizen, Defender of Freedom."
        About the Piece
        VIEW ALL ART

Background Image

House Wing
Explore More
            
          Mural.Cox Corridors
    Columns in a room with statues.Hall of Columns
    Crowd in stands.House Chamber
    Columns in a room with statues and a chandelier.National Statuary Hall Serve. Preserve. Inspire.

              Contact Us
                            Accountability
                            Hill Staff Resources
                            AOC Staff Resources
Utility
  

        
              Privacy Policy
                            Image Terms of Use
                            Inspector General
                            U.S. Botanic Garden
                            U.S. Capitol Visitor CenterFacebook
	Twitter
	Flickr
	YouTube
	Instagram
	Subscribe