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NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE COLLECTION
UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING
Series Design by Anthony Giannini, USAFR
A perfect Inauguration collectible and one of the ornament models in our National Architecture Series, the U.S. Capitol Building is completely finished in 24KT gold on specially treated brass to museum level quality, art deco proportioned, and is meticulously handmade in the USA by the official ornament makers for the White House Gift Shop, Est. 1946. The Capitol Building is designed to sparkle with jewel-like brilliance and gem-like proportions for display on your Holiday or Christmas tree from its gold cord as well as for permanent, year-round, presentation on your desk, credenza, or display case.
Each year, the White House Gift Shop, Est. 1946 designs and makes a new National Architecture ornament to commemorate great American architects and architectural symbols of America. This exceptional piece, the second in this new collection, is a great chance to begin or continue your United States National Architecture heirloom collection.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL
In 1791, President Washington chose the land, now the District of Columbia, as the nation’s capital. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, was charged to plan the new city of Washington. L'Enfant's eye was keen, for he envisioned the U.S. Capitol Building upon the brow of what was then called Jenkins' Hill -- a site that in L'Enfant's words, "A pedestal waiting for a monument." The Capitol Building, itself, was designed by Dr. William Thornton, a Scottish-trained physician. The Capitol’s length, north to south, is 751 feet 4 inches; width is 350 feet; height to the top of the Statue of Freedom is 288 feet; the dome is an elegant articulation of 8,909,200 pounds of cast iron!
Standing atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., construction of the U.S. Capitol Building began in 1793, and is the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government -- the Congress of the United States. On September 18, 1793, President Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol building-- an exemplar 19th-century neoclassical architecture that evokes the principles and ideals guiding the Founding Fathers as they developed the new republic. Congress first met in the Capitol Building on November 17, 1800 The United States Capitol building is symbolically and architecturally one of the most important architectures not only in America but also in the world. Often shown as a symbol of power, influence, authority, and gravity in times of national crises as the background of news broadcasts -- the United States Capitol building is synonymous with the legislative pulse of America. The Senate and the House of Representatives have forged the laws of our Nation in the great halls, corridors, and private rooms of the Capitol Building for more than two centuries. The Capitol building since 1793 was built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored, and stands as an architectural monument of freedom and democracy for America.
Dimensions: 4.5" x 1.5" x 2" (to peak of dome)
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The United State Capitol Buillding 
