HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL - CHAPTER XI - THE COMPETITION FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CAPITOL

Oct 28, 2026

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HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL, Volume II, Chapter XI details the political and architectural process behind the proposed extension of the U.S. Capitol in 1850. The chapter describes Robert Mills’s role and his submitted drawings and plans, outlines the spatial concept for Senate and House wings, and explains why the Senate rejected the committee report. It then reproduces the formal resolution authorizing invited designs and the published invitation setting deadlines, requirements, and the $500 premium structure.

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CHAPTER XI

THE COMPETITION FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CAPITOL

FRONTISPIECE—Vol. II WEST VIEW OF CAPITOL. West Front, 1900. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL BY GLENN BROWN FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE SOCIÉTÉ CENTRALE DES ARCHITECTES FRANÇAIS VOLUME II We have built no temple but the Capitol; We consult no common oracle but the Constitution —RUFUS CHOATE CHAPTER XI THE COMPETITION FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CAPITOL 1 Congressional Globe (31–2), vol. 21, pt. 2, 1081. Mills identified himself as “Architect of Public Buildings” but did not hold the title officially. By 1850, he had been the architect or superintendent of many important public buildings in Washington, including the Treasury Department (1836–42), the Patent Office (1836–40), the Post Office (1839–42), and the Washington Monument (1848–1884) . See John M. Bryan, ed. , Robert Mills (Washington: American Institute of Architects, 1989) . Chamber were grand stairways, together with sixteen rooms for the officers of the Senate. Below were twenty-eight committee rooms. The Senate wing was designed to have four entrances—a central entrance on the axis of the Capitol, with a corridor leading through the Rotunda from wing to wing; an eastern entrance through a colonnade on the eastern front, this colonnade to extend from wing to wing 360 feet long, with an entrance from each of the grand stairways on the east and west [Plate 137]. The south or House wing was arranged on a plan similar to the Senate wing, giving a larger audience chamber, while a House Library was to be obtained from the square spaces of the old Hall of Representatives. The Congressional Library was to have been enlarged so as to occupy the whole of the western projection of the old building. The old Hall of Representatives was to have been turned into an audience room, where works of art could be displayed with advantage. The old Senate Chamber was to be made into a Supreme Court room, while it was proposed to change the old Supreme Court into the Law Library. With this report Robert Mills presented drawings showing plans, sections, and elevations. I have been able to find only a section and an elevation of these drawings [Plates 138 and 139], although diligent search has been made through the Departments and among the descendants of the Architect for the missing drawings.2 2 Enlargement of the Capitol, [S. report](S. report) 145 (31–1), Serial 565. The section and elevation drawings (Plates 138 and 139) of Mills’s proposed 1850 design, submitted with his May report, are located in the Architect of the Capitol collection. In February, Mills addressed a memorial to both houses of Congress presenting drawings and a model of a proposed Capitol extension. These drawings and the model have been lost. See Pamela Scott,“Robert Mills: Unofficial Architect Designs Capitol Improvements and Extensions,” Capitol Dome 24 (November 1989): 7–8. ~~ ~~THE~~ ~~COMPETITION~~ ~~FOR~~ ~~THE~~ ~~EXTENSION~~ ~~OF~~ ~~THE~~ ~~CAPITOL~~ ~~ In the description Mills says the different details of the architecture of the old building are carried out around the wings, with porticoes located on the north and south. This scheme proposed a central dome similar in character to that of St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Paul’s in London, or the Invalides in Paris, in which the colonnade was to extend around and rest upon the base of the Dome of the old Capitol. The Senate did not approve the report of the Committee on Public Buildings, and on September 26, 1850, passed the following resolution: “Resolved, That the Committee on Public Buildings be authorized to invite plans, accompanied by estimates, for the extension of the Capitol, and to allow a premium of $500 for the plan which may be adopted by the Committees on Public Buildings (acting jointly) of the two Houses of Congress, to be paid out of the contingent fund of the Senate.” 3 The following general invitation was published in the National Intelligencer, of

FAQs

What prompted Congress to seek plans for extending the Capitol in 1850?

After rejecting the committee’s report, the Senate authorized a process to invite designs with estimates and offer a $500 premium for the adopted plan.

Who was Robert Mills, and what materials did he provide for the proposed extension?

The chapter discusses Mills as the architect proposing plans and drawings (including sections and elevations) for an 1850 design, and notes that some drawings and a model were later lost.

How did the Senate’s invitation describe the acceptable ways to extend the Capitol?

It required plans for extension either through additional wings on the north and south of the present building or by building a separate structure within the eastern inclosure.

Oct 28, 2026

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