The Capitol Building

President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the United States Capitol on September 18, 1793. Designed by amateur architect William Thornton, the building underwent successive design modifications under Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Charles Bulfinch. Congress met in the building for the first time in November 1800. During the War of 1812, invading British troops set fire to the building in August 1814, gutting the interior of the Senate and House wings before a sudden torrential downpour saved the outer structure from total destruction.

As the nation expanded, the Capitol was dramatically enlarged in the 1850s under Architect of the Capitol Thomas U. Walter. The original wooden, copper-covered dome was replaced by a massive double-shelled cast-iron dome completed in 1866, crowned by Thomas Crawford's bronze Statue of Freedom. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln insisted on continuing dome construction as a symbol that the Union would endure, while the building briefly served as a military barracks, hospital, and bakery for Union troops.

The Capitol has been the site of dramatic historic events, including the fatal collapse of former President John Quincy Adams on the House floor in 1848, the violent 1856 beating of Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks, and the deaths of multiple statesmen who lay in state in the Rotunda. Today, the building encompasses over 1.5 million square feet with more than 600 rooms.

The United States Capitol boasts some of the most famous urban ghost legends in American folklore. The premier spectral legend is the 'Demon Cat' (or 'D.C.'). Legend holds that a phantom black cat roams the subterranean crypt and basement winding halls. Originally brought into the basement in the 1800s to control mice, the spirit cat reportedly appears to night watchmen and Capitol Police officers before major national tragedies or presidential administration changes, swelling from a harmless kitten to a gigantic, terrifying beast before vanishing into thin air. Stone footprints near the Old Supreme Court Chamber are pointed out by tour guides as proof of the feline specter.

Another famous haunt involves former President and Congressman John Quincy Adams. In February 1848, Adams suffered a massive stroke at his desk in the old House of Representatives chamber (now National Statuary Hall) and died two days later in the Speaker's office. Staff and visitors report seeing his spectral figure sitting at his former desk location or pacing Statuary Hall at night, shouting 'No!' in reference to his final vote against a war resolution.

In the Senate wing, the spirit of Civil War soldier and Senator Edward Dickinson Baker—a close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln who was killed in battle at Ball's Bluff in 1861—is said to glide down marble staircases in military uniform. Additionally, the phantom of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the original designer of Washington D.C. who died impoverished, is reported walking the corridors clutching his rolled-up city blueprints.

Capitol Police officers, maintenance crews, tour docents, and Congressional aides working after hours have logged numerous ghostly encounters across the sprawling complex. In National Statuary Hall, famous for its unique acoustic design, visitors standing at specific focal spots can clearly hear disembodied whispering and footsteps across the stone floor when no one else is in the room.

Nighttime security patrols in the Capitol Crypt beneath the Rotunda have reported seeing a shadowy, full-bodied feline figure darting between stone columns, accompanied by sudden cold breezes and the sound of low growling. Multiple officers over the past century have reported drawing their weapons on the phantom cat before it vanished through solid brick walls.

Near the Senate chamber, staff members have reported seeing the ghost of Vice President Henry Wilson, who died in his Capitol office in 1875, accompanied by the distinct smell of soap and wet towels. Footsteps walking down closed marble staircases, self-moving elevator cars, and sudden dramatic drops in temperature in historic committee rooms add to the building's supernatural reputation.

The United States Capitol is an architectural marvel of American Neoclassical design, constructed from Aquia Creek sandstone and Georgia marble. The landmark is dominated by its famous central cast-iron dome, rising 288 feet, crowned by the 19.5-foot bronze Statue of Freedom. The building extends 751 feet long and 350 feet wide, housing over 600 rooms across four main floors.

Key architectural spaces include the monumental central Rotunda beneath the dome featuring large historic paintings and relief friezes; the Crypt directly below the Rotunda with 40 Doric columns; National Statuary Hall (the original House Chamber); the historic Old Senate Chamber; the current House and Senate chambers in the south and north wings; and the massive underground Capitol Visitor Center opened in 2008.

The United States Capitol Visitor Center serves as the main entrance for all public visitors, located beneath the East Front plaza between Constitution and Independence Avenues. The Capitol is open for guided tours Monday through Saturday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Admission is completely free, though booking advance tour passes online is strongly recommended, especially during spring and summer peak seasons.

All visitors pass through security screening upon entry. Standard guided tours cover the Crypt, Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall. Passes to view the live Senate or House Galleries when Congress is in session must be obtained separately (U.S. residents contact their Senator/Representative; international visitors apply at the gallery desks). The Capitol Visitor Center features exhibition halls, gift shops, and a large cafeteria.

As the monumental political heart of American legislative history for over two centuries, the United States Capitol's haunted reputation is continuously sustained by famous urban legends like the 'Demon Cat,' the tragic unexpected deaths of historic national leaders like John Quincy Adams inside the building, and persistent first-hand reports from Capitol Police officers, night maintenance staff, and tour docents patrolling its empty marble corridors and subterranean crypt long after public hours.