National Capitol Columns - Washington, D

The National Capitol Columns are a monument in Washington, D.C.'s National Arboretum. It is an arrangement of twenty-two

Corinthian column The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s which were a part of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

from 1828 to 1958, placed amid of open meadow, known as the Ellipse Meadow.

Original use

The columns were quarried from

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

near

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and transported to Washington on a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

. Old identification marks from the quarry are still visible on some of the stones. They were originally built as part of the east

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

of the Capitol in 1828, long before the familiar Capitol dome was completed. However, when the dome was completed in 1866, it appeared inadequately supported by the columns, because the iron dome was significantly larger than the dome that the designer envisioned. To correct this visual illusion, an addition to the east side of the Capitol was constructed in 1958 and the columns were removed.

Transfer to Arboretum

During the 1980s, Arboretum benefactor Ethel Garrett took up the cause of establishing a permanent home for the columns.

Russell Page Montague Russell Page (1 November 1906 – 4 January 1985) was a British gardener, garden designer and landscape architect. He worked in the UK, western Europe and the United States of America. Biography Montague Russell Page was born in Linc ...

, a

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and close friend of Garrett's, visited the Arboretum in September 1984, only months before his death. He determined that the east side of the Ellipse Meadow would be an ideal location, as the columns would be in scale with the more than of open

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

available at the site. The columns were relocated to this site, and set on a foundation of stones from the steps that were originally on the east side of the Capitol. A reflecting pool, fed by a small rivulet of water running down a channel in the steps, reflects the columns and provides sound and movement. A

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, or top portion, of one of the columns is located elsewhere in the meadow, so that visitors can see the detail that the stone carver incorporated into the design. Acanthus leaves are clearly visible, and the many layers of paint applied while the column was in place at the Capitol are visible on portions of the stone.

Two missing columns

Only 22 of the original 24 columns stand in the Ellipse Meadow. The remaining two columns are damaged, and rest at the summit of Mount Hamilton, inside the Arboretum's Azalea Collection. Both are cracked in half and neither has a base or capital.

References

External links

* * Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. United States Capitol grounds 1828 sculptures Stone sculptures in Washington, D.C. Sandstone sculptures in the United States 1828 establishments in Washington, D.C. Relocated buildings and structures in Washington, D.C. Monumental columns in the United States Modern ruins {{WashingtonDC-geo-stub