On September 18, 1793, George Washington laid the cornerstone
to the United States Capitol building, the home of the legislative
branch of American government. The building would take nearly
a century to complete, as architects came and went, the British
set fire to it and it was called into use during the Civil War.

Today, the Capitol building, with its famous cast-iron dome
and important collection of American art, is part of the Capitol
Complex, which includes six Congressional office buildings
and three Library of Congress buildings, all developed in the
19th and 20th centuries.