William Thornton Re-examined by Bob Arnebeck

Table of contents   Rewriting this chapter Thornton v. Latrobe The North Wing in 1800 On June 1, 1801, the board asked the president to approve work on the South Wing to accommodate the increased representation in congress thanks to the census of 1800. Four days earlier the board had directed Hoban to draw plans for a temporary building “on the eliptic Foundation in the South wing of the Capitol” so that “the Arcades, and as much of the other work as can be done consistently with the general Plan of the Capitol may remain permanent.” The board had Hoban draw a plan with two stories as well as one. Although the president expected to see his Halle au Ble ideas embodied in the chamber, he opted for one story. He wrote to the commissioners: "mr Hobens observes there will be considerable inconveniencies in carrying up the elliptical wall now without the square one, & the square one in future without the elliptical wall, and that these difficulties increase as the walls get higher....

Table of Contents      Rewriting this chapter   Chapter Nine: The Case for the Ingenious A 116. Law's 1800 house became the fulcrum of the New Varnum Hotel Today, Thornton is a celebrated architect and his fame is not based solely on his Capitol design. Posthumously, Thornton had a stroke of luck. Historians credit him for designing houses built by John Tayloe III, General Washington and Thomas Law. Thornton never claimed that he designed those houses. No contemporary credited him for designing them. But no one else was credited for designing them. Attributing them to Thornton serves the agenda of posterity. As a 1925 New York Times' headline attested, legendary houses have a way have getting attached to legendary architects: “Octagon House Tablet to Exalt Architect; Special Marker to Be Placed on Celebrated Washington Dwelling, Designed by the Many-Sided Thornton, Who Planned the Original Capitol.” However, since his biographers suggest that Thornton concealed his d...