TheUnited States Capitol crypt is the large circular room filled with forty neoclassicalDoric columns directly beneath theUnited States Capitol rotunda. It was built originally to support the rotunda as well as offer an entrance toWashington's Tomb. It currently serves as a museum and a repository for thirteen statues of theNational Statuary Hall Collection.
The crypt originated with the initial designs drawn up for theUnited States Capitol byWilliam Thornton, which called for arotunda to be placed between the two wings of the building.[1] The room beneath the rotunda was therefore required to support the large space above it. However, construction did not begin on the central part of the Capitol, where the rotunda and the room beneath it were located, until after theWar of 1812.
Construction on the Capitol itself began in 1793, when the first Americanpresident,George Washington, laid down thecornerstone to the north wing of the building.[1] Upon the death of Washington in 1799, the designers of the Capitol went toMartha Washington and requested permission to build a tomb for her husband in the Capitol. She acquiesced to this request and plans were made to construct the tomb underneath the floor that supported the rotunda. This area was designated the crypt, as it would serve as the entry to the tomb.[citation needed]
Delays wracked the construction efforts of the Capitol's builders, notably the interruption by theWar of 1812, when all construction came to a halt. In August 1814, theBritish captured the city of Washingtonand set fire to the Capitol, nearly destroying the entire building. Thus, when construction recommenced after the war ended in 1815, it was initially to rebuild what had been lost to the fire.[1]
The central section of the Capitol comprising the rotunda and the crypt was not completed until 1827 under the oversight ofArchitect of the CapitolCharles Bulfinch.[1] However, plans to re-inter Washington in the Capitol fell apart when attempts were made to retrieve his body fromMount Vernon, the President's home, due to restrictions of Washington'swill and refusal of the plantation's then owner, John Washington.[2]
A marble compass was set into the floor of the chamber to mark the point where thefour quadrants of theDistrict of Columbia meet.[3]
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Circa 1900, the Capitol crypt was used informally for bicycle parking.[4][5][6]
The crypt serves as the main thoroughfare of the ground floor of the Capitol and is a stop for all Capitol Tours provided through theCapitol Visitor Center. The crypt also contains the Magna Carta Case, a gold case which held one of the copies of theMagna Carta when it was on loan to the United States for the Bicentennial celebration.
There are 13 statues from theNational Statuary Hall Collection, representing the 13 original states, located in the crypt. They are:
The bronze statue ofConfederate generalRobert E. Lee fromVirginia (byEdward V. Valentine, 1934) was removed on December 21, 2020. It was replaced by a statue ofcivil rights activist Johns.[7][8] The statue ofCharles Brantley Aycock fromNorth Carolina was replaced by theStatue of Billy Graham.[9][10]
The crypt, which now houses exhibitions and sculpture, was once an informal storage space where bicycles were parked.
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