Thomas Ustick Walter; United States Capitol Dome, Section,1855. By 1854, Walter convinced both the President and the Congress that the old Bulfinch dome was out of proportion with the significantly larger building. The devasting consequences of the Library of Congress fire caused Congress to look at even more pressing reasons for its replacement. One congressman noted the “dome over the center building of this Capitol…invites fire. There is a nest of dried materials there...that seems almost to
