Evening star., 1955-04-24
Plan to Enlarge Capitol
Dates Back 81 Years

"The eastern portico Of the
old Omitted States Capitol
Building will certainly be taken
down at no very. distant day
and the front be extended east
ward, at least to the front line
Of the wings. so as to complete
the architectural group ana at
the same time afford additional
accommodations to the legisla-
tive department :"
These words might well have
been spoken two days ago by
House Speaker Rayburn. when
he disclosed o new move to
revamp the plaza side Of the
Capitol.
Actually, they were spoken 90
years ago by Thomas q. Walter,
then architect Of the Capitol.
The fact that Mr.. Rayburn
did virtually paraphrase Mr..
Walters words is entirely log
ical, because they were talking
about precisely the same re-
modelling job.
And during the years since
1868, the same air Of hopeful
lmminence has been given the
project by dozens Of other legis-
lators, Mr.. Walters successors
and at least one President.
Long-Lived Plan
There's nothing at all unusual
about ambitious architectural
plans gathering dust in Wash
ington. But the Capitol Plan"
almost certainly has set some
kind Of record for perennial
hope.
It started not many years after
the original Capitol was built
atop what was then Jenkins Hill
in the early days Of the 10th
Century.
The eastern side of the orig
inal Capitol-the front" to
most people-had virtually a
flush building line. Finished in
1927, the building had a small
wooden dome. Architecturally,
it wasn't bad. In 1850, Congress
authorized a much larger dome,
and also voted money to extend
the House and Senate wings
which gave the building It's pres
ent horseshoe shape.
The big dome, constructed of
iron, was finished about 1865.
It's stone skirt" overhung a por-
tico on the front of the building.
Temporary" Oyerhang
It was Architect Walters feel
ing that the overhang would be
only temporary. He designed
plans to extend the center of the
Capitol outward as far as the two
new wings. This. he said, would
give the building both eahetic
and practical benefits, adding:
Nov that the new dome and
the wings of the Capitol are ap-
preaching completion, it must
be apparent to everyone that the
extension Of the center building
on the east to the line of the new
wings becomes an architectural
pecessity."
But Mr.. Walter said he would
not recommend the work be done
Immediately because of Civil War
conditions. And that temporary
postponement hasn't ended yet.
Time and again, the project
waxed hot. In 1904. a joint
House-Senate commission hired
architects to draw a plan. Moth
ing happened. Congress came
closest to action in the 1930s.
The nenate actually passed bills
authorizing the center extension
in 1885 and 1897. Neither got
through the House.
Several results were sought by
the bills: Cd To provide more
Office space for congress. t2) to
correct an architectural impress
sion from some angles that the
dome has a lack of support be-
cause its stone skirt" overhangs
the east portico, 90 to replace
the central fronts sandstone ex-
terror with.the same marble fac
ir.g the wings have and (4) to
give a better architectural bal
ance to the whole building.
What seems to have killed the
bills was opposition. based main
ly on sentiment, to disturbing
the historic appearance of the
old structure.
In 1947, heat was generated
again for the project, caused
mainly by the pinch for more
Office space. Again nothing hap
pened. At that time, the first