Articles by Solomon Rokowsky
November 2026
The U.S. Capitol: Two Centuries of Building, Burning and Rebuilding
George Washington laid the cornerstone in Masonic regalia in 1793, British troops burned the building in 1814, and the cast-iron dome that defines it rose during the Civil War. Much of the early work was done by enslaved laborers hired out to the federal government.
November 2026
The Lincoln Memorial: A Greek Temple for a Rail-Splitter
A Greek temple on the Potomac holding a 19-foot marble Lincoln, carved by the Piccirilli brothers from Daniel Chester French's model and dedicated in front of Robert Todd Lincoln in 1922.
November 2026
The Washington Monument: Forty Years of False Starts, Then the Tallest Building on Earth
The 555-foot obelisk took thirty-six years and two centuries to finish, survived a takeover by the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing party, and still shows its construction break as a visible color change a third of the way up.
November 2026
The White House: Burned Once, Gutted Once, Rebuilt for a Third Century
James Hoban's sandstone President's House has been burned by the British, gutted by Truman, and doubled in size. Its walls still bear scorch marks from 1814.
November 2026
The Supreme Court Building: A Marble Temple, 145 Years Late
For 146 years the Court worked in the Capitol. Cass Gilbert's 1935 marble palace finally gave the justices a home of their own - one Gilbert called the greatest commission of his career.