U.S. Crypt:
This vaulted space beneath the Rotunda has long been called the Crypt because of its resemblance to similar areas in churches, which were often used for chapels and tombs.
Forty Aquia Creek sandstone columns in the Doric style support the floor above and were installed in the 1820s under architect Charles Bulfinch, who completed the construction of the Capitol in 1826.

U.S. Capitol Rotunda
As it appears today, the U.S. Capitol Rotunda is the result of two distinct building campaigns. Dr. William Thornton, who won the competition for the design of the U.S. Capitol in 1793, conceived the idea of a central rotunda. Due to a shortage of funds and materials, sporadic construction phases, and the fire set by the British in 1814, the Capitol Rotunda was not begun until 1818.
The Rotunda was completed under the direction of Charles Bulfinch by the time of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. Conceived in the age of neoclassicism, the Rotunda was intended to recall the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple. Bulfinch created in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda an ambitious orchestration of architecture, sculpture and painting.

The Statuary Hall
Initially all of the state statues were placed in National Statuary Hall. As the collection expanded, however, it outgrew the Hall, and in 1933, Congress authorized the display of the statues throughout the building for both aesthetic and structural reasons. Presently, 35 statues are located in National Statuary Hall.

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