This 1848 view of the East Front looks little like the modern Capitol. Until the 1850s, the building was much smaller than it is today and was topped by a low dome. Nonetheless, at the time it was the most prominent building in the capital city, perched on a high hill and visible even across the Potomac River. To someone seeing this print in 1848, the resemblance to such classical structures as the Parthenon, set on a hill in Athens, would have been clear.
