Bulfinch Gatehouses
Title
Bulfinch Gatehouses
Description
Architect of the Capitol, Charles Bulfinch, designed the gatehouses and matching gateposts in the 1820s. They originally flanked a grand pedestrian entrance on the west side of the Capitol. They were removed in 1874 and placed in their present locations in 1880. Currently, one gatehouse and three gateposts are in place at the corner of 15th and Constitution Avenue; the other gatehouse is at the corner of 17th and Constitution, and the remaining gateposts are located at the entrance to the National Arboretum in north-eastern Washington.
Creator
Source
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original.
Date
c. 1827 (Designed)
1874 (Moved)
Physical Description
Both the gateposts and the gatehouses are made of sandstone. The gateposts are twelve feet high, five feet wide, and five feet deep. The gatehouses are one-room buildings measuring roughly fifteen and a half feet long on each side.