US-GOVERNMENT-ARCHITECTURE

A view of the interior of the US Capitol Building's rotunda as it is restored on Capitol Hill November 12, 2014 in Washington, DC. The US Capitol dome is undergoing its first comprehensive repairs in more than half a century, installing a donut-shaped canopy to protect visitors to the historic structure. The two-year project will begin this November aimed at repairing nearly 1,300 cracks that have emerged in the nine-million-pound (4.1-million-kilogram) cast iron dome, according to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) office. "We must conduct this critical work to save the dome," Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers said on the AOC website. Construction on the dome began in 1855. Work symbolically continued through the US Civil War and the structure was eventually completed in 1866. AFP PHOTO / Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)