Construction on the United States Capitol began in 1793 by the request of President Washington (who originally planned to be buried in a tomb under it) and was built, destroyed, rebuilt, and expanded. Today it has 540 rooms, 658 windows, 850 doorways, and covers 175,170 square feet of ground space (about 4 acres). The famous dome we see today was added to the building in the mid 1800s.
A view of the West Front side of the Capitol Building (as seen from the National Mall)
