Sam Kittner Photographer

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Capitol Ruins, Washington, DC
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Capitol Ruins. These photos are from a series I shot of old stones that used to be part of the United States Capitol Building. Lost in the woods, ornate stones, grown-over vessels, wind blown leaves. Once majestic, the remains of the original East Front of the U.S. Capitol now seem to lie forgotten. These sandstones were torn away from The Capitol in 1959, during construction of an extension to the original building. The sandstone, quarried from Aquia Creek in Virginia, was replaced by the Georgia Marble that now adorns the East Front. The sandstone was deposited in a National Park Service storage area deep in Rock Creek Park. Strewn about the forest the piled stones look like a tattered monument to some lost civilization. Yet, as architectural historian William Allen of the architect of the Capitol's office notes, it is perhaps the last remaining deposit of Aquia Creek sandstone.The creek's supply of stone is exhausted. The old East Front stone has already come in handy for various restoration projects around the Capitol and The White House. The original columns from the old East Front are on display at The National Arboritum. Photographs from this series have appeared in publications such as Historic Preservation, Washingtonian, and National Geographic..
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Capitol Ruins.  These photos are from a series I shot of old stones that used to be part of the United States Capitol Building. Lost in the woods, ornate stones, grown-over vessels, wind blown leaves. Once majestic, the remains of the original East Front of the U.S. Capitol now seem to lie forgotten.  These sandstones were torn away from The Capitol in 1959, during construction of an extension to the original building. The sandstone, quarried from Aquia Creek in Virginia, was replaced by the Georgia Marble that now adorns the East Front. The sandstone was deposited in a National Park Service storage area deep in Rock Creek Park. Strewn about the forest the piled stones look like a tattered monument to some lost civilization. Yet, as architectural historian William Allen of the architect of the Capitol's office notes, it is perhaps the last remaining deposit of Aquia Creek sandstone.The creek's supply of stone is exhausted. The old East Front stone has already come in handy for various restoration projects around the Capitol and The White House. The original columns from the old East Front are on display at The National Arboritum.  Photographs from this series have appeared in publications such as Historic Preservation, Washingtonian, and National Geographic..