William Thornton Re-examined by Bob Arnebeck

Table of contents The General Dies and Jefferson Resurrects the Ideas of Dr. Thornton  The North Wing in 1800 As the city came to life with the arrival of the federal government in 1800, Thornton’s reputation as an architect depended solely on the Capitol. Despite being one of the commissioners, Thornton was unable to associate his name with the design of the North Wing. On November 18, 1799, Superintendent Hoban handed the commissioners his report that proved that the building was ready to receive congress. The commissioners added  his reports on the other public buildings  and sent them all to Philadelphia where they were printed and submitted to congress along with President Adams' annual message which reported that the commissioners "conclude that the removal of the seat of government to that place at the time required will be practicable and the accommodations satisfactory."  In the main, Hoban's reports are as moving as the dimensions and specifications in a ...

The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck   Table of Contents     Chapter Six: Walls Fall Down 72. Robert Morris house in Philadelphia where the president lived and worked While Thornton left Hallet stewing  in his little stone house next to the Capitol, he could not avoid Hallet's pretensions once he got to Philadelphia. In mid-February, 1795, the New York Minerva, immediately followed by the Boston Orrey and Philadelphia's Gazette of the United States, printed a three part "Essay on the City of Washington." Since it was also printed in French, one scholar suggests that Hallet wrote it. However, Greenleaf had several French employees including a "Mr. Henry" who he paid to project ideas about the world capital soon to be built. Another Greenleaf brother-in-law, Noah Webster, was publisher of the Minerva. The essay primarily celebrated the economic and cultural importance of the city, and ...