This image taken by John Plumbe shows the United States Capitol in its original form. The external walls were constructed of Aquia sandstone, and its Corinthian columns painted white. The tar-painted canvas dome cover was extremely difficult to maintain. In 1851, President Millard Fillmore ordered a massive enlargement that included the larger dome that required less maintenance.

This daguerreotype was made by John Plumbe circa 1846. It shows the U.S. Patent Office, as it originally stood. The exterior was constructed entirely of Aquia sandstone. In 1877, the upper floors were lost in a fire, but the surviving outer walls and first floor can be seen today in the covered courtyard shared by the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. It was designated a historic landmark in 1965.