The United States capital is filled with many iconic markers. As a tourist in Washington D.C., there is plenty to see a few being the Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian, and obviously the Capital. The styles of these buildings help portray the foundational ideals of our country. I choose Charles Bulfinch because he was an influential architect of the Washington D.C. Capital Building. I chose Charles Bulfinch because this Summer I hope to be in Washington D.C. for an internship. While I am there I would like to visit the capital building, which Charles Bulfinch designed. Bulfinch is known as one of the first native-born American, professional architect (Place, 16). Charles Bulfinch was born in Boston on August 8, 1763 (Franklin, 11). Bulfinch …show more content…
It was not until the capital building was burned in the war of 1812 that Charles Bulfinch replaced Benjamin Latrobe as the architect of the capital (Kirker, 328). Bulfinch original plans for the capital was in a Federalist-style (Zawadzki, 20, Nov.). The Federalist-style is significant to the American myth and memory making because the style originated in the United States (Zawadzki, 20, Nov.). It was one of the earliest styles that established the American culture as a separate entity from our colonial background(Zawadzki, 20, Nov.). The first design Bulfinch created for the Capital was edited multiple times before the final siding was created. For example, the original dome was raised an additional fifty-five feet (Place, 245). The capital building is significant to American myth and memory making because the Capital is the seat of the American Government. This is the building is central to policy and rules making that establishes how the United States function as a country. Because of the significance of its function the capital serves as an icon of government. Government is an important marker in the American culture because the republican democracy that was an experimental system. This system is a part of the American myth because the entire society is based on this
For much of the last millennia many great architects have looked upon the Pantheon as a staple of classical architecture, as well as a model for many modern day buildings. Created by the Romans, the Pantheon would use many elements better than any other works of architecture to that time. No further than Columbia Missouri is this evident in the construction of what used to be known as the First Academic Building on the University of Missouri campus. The Architects Bell and Binder headed the creation of the new building after the First Academic Building burnt down in 1892. Known today as Jesse Hall, this modern day work of architecture pulls many elements from the Pantheon to create a unique work of public space. The most glaring comparison of both comes from the domes that top both buildings. Each building also shares similar characteristics in their front facades. Yet, while there are many similarities to both works, each contain unique differences in their layout and construction.
One story describes the planning of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair that had been proposed to celebrate the four hundred years since Columbus landed in America. The idea didn’t get much attention until a year earlier, when Paris held a world fair and unveiled the Eiffel Tower. Not to be outdone, America decided now it was a matter of who would hold a fair that would put France’s fair to shame. There was a dilemma of where the fair would be built New York or Chicago, but votes were tallied up and the majority of the vote was Chicago. Among the many architects in Chicago, the main job of the designing the fair was given to Daniel H. Burnham. He needed a companion to help him with the design and other features of the fair, so he chose John Root, a very close friend of his and former associate. Because of the amount of time it took to decide where to build the fair, The White City was believed to be impossible to construct because of time con...
Soon after the fire, legislature decided to tear down the remains of the damaged structure and replace it with a larger and more stylish design. Chicago architect, Henry Ives Cobb, was selected to design and build the second capitol. The government gave him a budget of only $550,000, which was not nearly enough to reproduce the size and design that the legislature had envisioned. Due to limited funds, Cobb was unable to finish his intended design. Legislature was embarrassed and unimpres...
During the American Revolutionary War, all of the states had incurred a lot of debt from other foreign nations. So Hamilton decided that America must pay back this debt so that they could maintain peace and regulate commerce with European countries. The southern states had paid off their debt but the northern states were still in debt. So he composed a compromise - The south would not protest the Federal government paying off any northern states that still had debt, in the condition that the south chose where the national capital would be built. This compromise worked as the entire United States debt was paid off and the capital was constructed in the District of Columbia (DC) within a few years. In the construction of the capital, Maryland and Virginia donated land for the capital. The importance of this plan was that they had no debt, so this would bring power and respect to the United States from the European countries by keeping peace with everybody and allowing for continued trade. Because who would trade with a country that has debt with
The Old Custom House located on 28 Wall Street was built by Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis in 1833.It is made of stone and has a distinctive Greek Revival style of architecture. It was carved from marble in Westchester County, New York. The columns are of the Doric order and the building resembles a simplified version of the Parthenon. The building is of great historical significance because it is the sight of George Washington’s presidential inauguration. The strong Greek Revival style embodied the American spirit of democracy. Federal Hall has been the location of government activity for hundreds of years. In the years following the Revolutionary War, New York became the young nation’s capital. In 1789 the building was renovated and became the nation’s first Capitol building. Today’s Supremce Court, Department of State, Defense and the Treasury all trace their roots ba...
Thomas Jefferson had many talents. One of his talents was that he was an architectural engineer. With this talent he helped design many things like the city of Washington D.C., the University of Virginia, and his home called Monticello. He designed the rotunda for the University of Virginia library in 1821 (Greene 37).
...tes would never be seen as a stable and reliable nation. To pay off the debts Hamilton designed to raise taxes throughout the country. And when the capital moved from Philadelphia to New York City, Hamilton offered to convince Congress and the President to move the capitol south to an appointed area near Virginia now known as District of Columbia.
Dell Upton is a historian and renowned professor of architecture and Urbanism at the University of California. He has published several books on architecture; one of them is “Architecture in the United States”, published in 1998. In this book, Upton analyzes the architecture of the United States in different aspects, such as nature, money and art, thus depicting the great variety in architectural forms, and how throughout the decades, different interests have lead communities to different ways of building, different purposes and materials, thus reflecting their way of thinking and their relationship with the environment. By exploring so many different architectural styles, Upton reveals the great diversity and richness that has always, and continues to characterize American architecture.
Shireman, Candace S. The Rise of Christian Heurich's Mansion: a Study of the Interior Design and Furnishings of the Columbian Historical Society's Christian Heurich Mansion, Washington, D.C., 1894-1914. 1989. Print.
Although the entire world is familiar with the City of Washington as the United State’s capital, the city was nonexistent when we became a nation in 1789. Thanks to the brilliant design of the French born engineer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant and his assistants Benjamin Banneker and Andrew Ellicot, our capital city that was once a swamp now is beautiful with many different parks, gardens trees, tall buildings and wide avenues.
The Jefferson Memorial is a testimonial to the past, present, and future of the United States. Its architecture, like most neo-Classical buildings, gives a sense of permanence. This permanence has a history far older than many would suspect. Centuries ago and thousands of miles away a building was erected that would later become the model for which many other buildings, including the Jefferson Memorial, are based upon. This building is the Roman Pantheon. Though the Jefferson Memorial borrows the basic form and elements from the Pantheon, the Memorial has distinctive differences from its predecessor.
"Five hundred dollars will be the reward for the architect who sets forth the plans for our nations new capitol building." Thomas Jefferson stated. He was also included in the long list of contestants who submitted thier construction designs. Three months after the contest ended, a man by the name of Dr .William Thorton submitted his designs of the capital. (Prolman, 5)
Architecture, the practice of building design and its resulting products, customary usage refers only to those designs and structures that are culturally significant. Today the architecture must satisfy its intended uses, must be technically sound, and must convey beautiful meaning. But the best buildings are often so well constructed that they outlast their original use. They then survive not only as beautiful objects, but as documents of history of cultures, achievements in architecture that testify to the nature of the society that produced them. These achievements are never wholly the work of individuals. Architecture is a social art, yet Frank Lloyd Wright single handily changed the history of architecture. How did Frank Lloyd Wright change architecture?
... artist/designer, so this makes it impossible for me to discuss the person or people who put this idea to life but the building itself is what attracted me to perform my research and base my essay on.
I have seen and been to a few monuments in my life. The one that’s sticks out in my mind the most is my visit to the World Trade Center after the first bombing. I remember the first couple of floors were being worked on, and you couldn’t really walk pass the building. Still, it was a magnificent site to see. I must have looked like a tourist because my eyes were constantly focus on all the huge skyscrapers that surrounded me.