Renovation Set for Capitol’s Dome

The dome of the U.S. Capitol building will be temporarily wrapped in scaffolding by the spring of next year as part of a two-year, $60 million renovation project torepair rust and more than 1,000 cracks in the domes structure.

The renovation, which will leave the Rotunda inside the dome ringed in netting to capture falling debris, includes repairing the cast iron, inserting filler where needed, removing old paint, and repainting the structure.

Visitors to the Capitol will be able to see the Apotheosis of Washington, the painting at the center of the Rotundas ceiling, through the center ofa white canopy system in the shape of a doughnut.

Much of the work will be done at night and on weekends.The architects office will update the renovations progress atwww.aoc.gov/dome.

Here are some facts about the Capitol Dome:

The project follows repairs on the Washington Monument, which was damaged in a 2011 earthquake. Scaffolding on the monument, which sits on the National Mall, is in the process of being dismantled.

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Renovation Set for Capitol’s Dome