United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Looking East, from the Dome of the Capitol. Washington, D.C.

Looking East, from the Dome of the Capitol. Washington, D.C./tiles/collection/3/34236.xml
Looking East, from the Dome of the Capitol. Washington, D.C./tiles/collection/3/31200.xml
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Date

1875

Publisher

Kilburn Brothers

Dimensions

3 7/16 × 6 15/16 in. (8.7 × 17.6 cm)

Accession Number

2019.089.000

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

In the 19th century, Americans loved stereoview photographs taken from the Capitol’s dome. This 1875 image showed a city in transition, still recovering from the Civil War. The old trees and buildings to the east of the Capitol had been swept away and replaced with grand, if raw, drives. First Street was lowered to accommodate landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s plan, so the buildings on the far side found themselves perched on a berm above the street level. Newly planted saplings offered no more shade than the gas light posts. In the foreground, a monumental statue of George Washington now served as a taxi stand for shabby horse-drawn cabs.

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Office of the Historian: history@mail.house.gov
Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov