This is the Capitol Building of the United States. It is located near the center of the city of Washington on top of Capitol Hill. The building covers an area of about four acres. At first it consisted of a man building 352 feet long and 121 feet deep, built of light-yellow freestone. Two wings have been added, each of these which is 238 feet long and 140 feet deep. These are made of white marble. Crowning the structure is an iron dome 135 1/2 feet in diameter at its base. The figure that you see on top of the dome is a statue of Freedom 19 1/2 feet high. From the base to the top of the statue the distance is 285 feet. The building was begun in 1818 but the wings were not completed until 1863. The entire Capitol cost over $16,000,000. You are looking at the building from an easterly direction. There are three main entrances, two of which are shown in the view. The center one leads into the main building or the Rotunda,

as it is called. Each of the others leads into the wings. In one of the wings is the Senate Chamber and in the other is the House of Representatives. The doors leading into each of these halls are of bronze on which are carved pictures of events in American history. The House of Representatives is in the wing nearest you. From the outside, the parts of the Capitol most admired are the three porticoes and the dome. The grand central portico has 24 columns of Virginia sandstone, each of which is 30 feet high. One hundred columns support the porticoes on the wings. These are made of Maryland marble. In the central building are housed the Supreme Court Room and the National Statuary Hall. But of more interest to a visitor is the Rotunda under the dome. This is 96 feet in diameter, 180 feet high, and contains many famous paintings. For what is the Capitol Building used?