Editing Thomas Ustick Walter (section)

===The U.S. Capitol and its dome===
[[Image:LincolnInauguration1861a.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Inauguration of [[Abraham Lincoln]], March 4, 1861, beneath the unfinished Capitol dome]]

In 1851, Walter was selected by President [[Millard Fillmore]] to lead the expansion of the U.S. Capitol.{{sfn|Mason|1888|p=325}} The office of the Architect of the Capitol, originally part of the [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]], was from 1853 to 1862 placed under the [[United States Department of War|War Department]]. Walter's work was supervised by [[Montgomery C. Meigs]] and [[William B. Franklin]]. Work was discontinued at the outbreak of the American Civil War, and when it started up again in 1862, his department was again supervised by the Department of the Interior.<ref name=aoc/>

Construction on the wings began in 1851. The [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] met in its new quarters in December 1857 and the [[United States Senate|Senate]] occupied its new [[United States Senate Chamber|chamber]] by January 1859. Walter's [[fireproofing|fireproof]] [[cast iron|cast-iron]] dome was authorized by Congress on March 3, 1855, and was nearly completed by December 2, 1863, when the [[Statue of Freedom]] was placed on top. The dome's [[cast iron frame|cast-iron frame]] was made by the iron foundry [[Adrian Janes|Janes, Fowler, Kirtland & Co.]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Terrell|first=Ellen|date=2015-05-20|title=The Capitol Dome: Janes, Fowler, & Kirtland Co. {{!}} Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2015/05/the-capitol-dome-janes-fowler-kirtland-co/|access-date=2021-08-25|website=blogs.loc.gov|archive-date=2021-08-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824221120/https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2015/05/the-capitol-dome-janes-fowler-kirtland-co/|url-status=live}}</ref> The 36 Corinthian columns designed by Walter, as well as 144 cast-iron structural pillars for the dome, were supplied by the Baltimore ironworks of [[Robert Poole (industrialist)|Poole & Hunt]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swett |first=Steven C. |author-link=Steven C. Swett |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1338040526 |title=The metalworkers : Robert Poole, his ironworks, and technology in 19th-century America |publisher=Baltimore Museum of Industry |others=Stephen Marchesi, Baltimore Museum of Industry |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-578-28250-3 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |pages=85–115 |oclc=1338040526}}</ref> Walter also rebuilt the interior of the [[Library of Congress|Library of Congress']] west center building after the fire of 1851. Walter continued as Capitol architect until 1865, when he resigned his position over a minor contract dispute. After 14 years in Washington, he retired to Philadelphia.<ref name=KohlerCarson/>

In the 1870s, financial setbacks forced Walter from retirement. He worked for a year as a draftsman for the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].{{sfn|Mason|1888|p=325}} He worked as Chief Assistant<ref name=aoc/> to his friend and younger colleague [[John McArthur Jr.]], when he won the design competition for [[Philadelphia City Hall]].<ref name=Moss>{{cite web |last1=Moss |first1=Roger W. |title=Walter, Thomas Ustick (1804-1887) |url=https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/21624 |website=www.philadelphiabuildings.org |publisher=The Athenaeum of Philadelphia |access-date=20 December 2024}}</ref> He continued on that vast project until his death in 1887. He was interred at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas U. Walter |url=https://remembermyjourney.com/memorials/thomas-u-walter?id=qmdn1kJA |website=remembermyjourney.com |publisher=webCemeteries |access-date=19 December 2024 |archive-date=19 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219173450/https://remembermyjourney.com/memorials/thomas-u-walter%3Fid%3Dqmdn1kJA |url-status=live }}</ref>