The central part of the Capitol was designed after the Maison Carrée at
Nimes by Thomas Jefferson while minister to France from the United
States. The original part was commenced in 1785 and finished about 1792,
and the wings were added, to give the legislators much-needed space, in
1905. In the rotunda in the old central part, you will see the most
celebrated work of the great French sculptor, Houdon—the life-size
statue of Washington, the only one posed from life which is in existence
today. It was placed here in 1788. Here also is a head of Lafayette by
Houdon. Virginia has made this rotunda her Hall of Presidents by placing
here busts of her other seven native sons who have become chief
executives of the United States.
Opening off the rotunda is the old hall of the House of Delegates, where
Aaron Burr, in 1807, was tried for treason before Chief Justice
Marshall. In this hall occurred a great tragedy in 1870, when the
balcony gave way because too large a crowd of people had packed every
inch to hear a trial of deep local interest. Sixty-three were killed and
two hundred and sixty injured. The hall has been restored to its
original appearance. Where his statue now stands, Robert E. Lee, on
April 23, 1861, accepted the command of Virginia’s forces. Here met the
Confederate House of Representatives from 1861-65. The present Virginia
Senate and House of Delegates meet in modern chambers in the two wings.
[Illustration: _State Capitol Building_]