Mark Twain allegedly called the Executive Office Building the 'ugliest building in America.' When it was first built, the structure was a startling contrast to the austere neoclassical architecture of Washington, D.C. The interior is noted for its remarkable cast iron details and enormous skylights designed by Richard von Ezdorf. He gave the Executive Office Building an elaborate facade and a high mansard roof like buildings in Paris. Today, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building houses a variety of federal offices, including the ceremonial office of the Vice President of the United States.Ĭhief Architect Alfred Mullett based his design on the imposing Second Empire style architecture that was popular in France during the mid-1800s. Historically, it was also called the State, War, and Navy Building because those departments had offices there. Raymond Boyd / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Imagesįormally known as the Old Executive Office Building, the massive building next to the White House was renamed in honor of President Eisenhower in 1999. The original dome by Charles Bulfinch was smaller and made of wood and copper. Capitol, the cast-iron neoclassical dome by Thomas Ustick Walter, was not added until the mid-1800s. As with many buildings constructed during the founding of Washington D.C., most of the labor was done by enslaved African Americans. Thomas Jefferson favored the classical plans and suggested that the Capitol be modeled after the Roman Pantheon, with a circular domed rotunda.īurned by British troops in 1814, the Capitol went through several major renovations.

However, three entries were modeled after ancient classical buildings. Capitol were inspired by Renaissance ideas. Most of the designers who entered the competition and submitted plans for the U.S. L'Enfant was dismissed and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson proposed a public competition. But L'Enfant refused to submit plans and would not yield to the authority of the commissioners. When French engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant planned the new city of Washington, he was expected to design the Capitol. Highsmith/Buyenlarge Archive Photos/Getty Images (cropped)įor almost two centuries, America's governing bodies, the Senate and the House of Representatives, have gathered under the dome of the US Capitol. United States Capitol Building, Washington, DC, Supreme Court (L) and Library of Congress (R) in Background.Ĭarol M.

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