In September 1774, the First Continental Congress brought together delegates from the colonies in Philadelphia, followed by the Second Continental Congress, which met from May 1775 to March 1781.Īfter adopting the Articles of Confederation in York, Pennsylvania, the Congress of the Confederation was formed and convened in Philadelphia from March 1781 until June 1783, when a mob of angry soldiers converged upon Independence Hall, demanding payment for their service during the American Revolutionary War. Prior to establishing the nation's capital in Washington, D.C., the United States Congress and its predecessors had met at Independence Hall and Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Federal Hall in New York City, and five additional locations: York, Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland, and Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey, and Trenton, New Jersey. and List of capitals in the United States § Capitals of the United States The east front of the United States Capitol in 2013 The east front at night in 2013 view List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.

Both its east and west elevations are formally referred to as fronts, although only the east front was intended for the reception of visitors and dignitaries. Like the principal buildings of the executive and judicial branches, the Capitol is built in a neoclassical style and has a white exterior. The massive dome was completed around 1866 just after the American Civil War. The building was enlarged in the 1850s by extending the wings for the chambers for the bicameral legislature, the House of Representatives in the south wing and the Senate in the north wing. These were partly destroyed in the 1814 Burning of Washington, then were fully restored within five years. Although no longer at the geographic center of the federal district, the Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants.Ĭentral sections of the present building were completed in 1800.

It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government.

Inside the senate office buildings