 thumb|250px|national statuary hall  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),  it is now the main exhibition space for the national statuary hall collection. ==description== the hall is built in the shape of an ancient amphitheater and is one of the earliest examples of neoclassical architecture in america. while most wall surfaces are painted plaster, the low gallery walls and pilasters are sandstone. around the room's perimeter stand colossal columns of variegated breccia marble quarried along the potomac river. the corinthian capitals of white marble were carved in carrara, italy. a lantern in the fireproof cast-steel ceiling admits natural light into the hall. the chamber floor is laid with black and white marble tiles; the black marble was purchased specifically for the chamber, while the white marble was scrap material from the capitol extension project. thumb|right|250px|carlo franzoni's 1810 sculptural clock, the car of history depicting clio, muse of history, recording the proceedings of the house. only two of the many statues presently in the room were commissioned for display in the original hall of the house. enrico causici's neoclassical plaster liberty and the eagle looks out over the hall from a niche above the colonnade behind what was once the speaker's rostrum. the sandstone relief eagle in the frieze of the [[e
Benjamin_Henry_Latrobe_buildings_and_structures United_States_Capitol_rooms