Written by Hridhaan Kohli, a grade 5 student.

Capitol Hill is a building located in Washington DC, United States. It is a symbol of power and unity and is one of the main seats of the US government. It houses the United States Congress, which consists of the Upper and Lower House. It also houses the Supreme Court.

The construction started in 1793 and the original building was completed in 1800. There was a deadly fire in 1814 in Washington in which Capitol Hill was partly destroyed. It was restored in five years.

Today it looks like this:

Any swearing in of a President or Vice President is held here, as part of a long-held tradition. The building is also home to political debates and speeches.

Facts about the building

• It has over 540 rooms
• The statue at the top of the dome is the Statue of Freedom.
• There are paintings depicting significant people and events in US history in the building
• The building includes:
  • The Capitol Visitor Center
  • The Senate Office Buildings
  • The House Office Buildings
  • The US Supreme Court
  • The Library of Congress
  • The US Botanic Garden

Other interesting facts

• The U.S. Congress met the north wing in November 1800, which was the first completed portion
• The dome was added much later – around the 1850s.
• The construction of this dome took 11 years and close to nine million pounds of iron.
• President Abraham Lincoln was sworn in under a half-finished dome.

Here’s a great video on the timeline of the building

The Attack on Capitol Hill

In January this year, there was an attack on this building. Read all about it here