As the nation’s largest and most expensive public works project, the expansion of the United States Capitol, including its new cast iron dome, coincided with the most politically divisive period of American history. Between the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 and his inauguration the following March seven states had withdrawn from the Union. Washington’s vulnerable geographical position between the slave states of Virginia and Maryland, and growing “rumors of an approaching Southern Army—with designs to blow up the public buildings,” created a sense of panic in the city. The Capitol construction had been under the direction of the Department of War, and on May 15, 1861 the project was halted “until after the war.” Thus Walter was forced to leave his greatest work unfinished. In addition, after getting his wife and son to the safety of Philadelphia, Walter abandoned the DC townhouse that he designed and built for his family in the 1850s.
The Capitol from Pennsylvania Avenue, Looking Southeast   Reproduction of Albumen Photograph Summer 1860 Courtesy of The Architect of the Capitol
	U. S. Capitol, Looking East Progress Photograph Salted Paper Print November 16, 1860 Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Walter’s Washington Residence at 614 F Street, NW Reproduction of Albumen Photograph                                 c. 1925 Courtesy of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, Washingtoniana Division
	Walter’s Washington Residence at 614 F Street, NW Plan of Residence Thomas U. Walter, Architect                                        Watercolor on Whatman Paper 1853 Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
United States Capitol Dome Progress Photograph Salted Paper Print September 29, 1860 Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
	Capitol Dome, View from the East   Progress Photograph Reproduction from Stereoscopic View May 9, 1861 The East front of the Capitol with Union soldiers drilling in the foreground.   Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Capitol Dome Construction, View from the Northeast Salted Paper Print May 15, 1861 This image was taken on the day that construction was officially halted by the Federal Government until “after the war.”   Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
	Willard’s Hotel, Washington, Saved by the New York Zoaves   Harper’s Weekly Volume V, Number 230, Cover May 25, 1861
Diary of Thomas Ustick Walter May 9, 1861    Once his F Street house had been emptied, Walter stayed at Willard’s Hotel at 14th & Pennsylvania Avenue. Despite its reputation as one of Washington’s finest hotels, the architect complained of rotten food and roaches in the tea.  The fire (described in his diary) was the last straw. For the next week he would sleep in his empty house and take his meals at Mrs. Irving’s boarding house,” Walter, who enjoyed his wine, gin and “seegars,” negotiated an arrangement with the tee-totaling Mrs. Irving:  “I have concluded to eat there while I remain, and they have concluded to let me have my wine—her price for eating is $5 per week; cheap enough.  I paid Willard $31 for one week, 2 fires and 2 bottles of wine, the biggest shave I ever had!”   Walter Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia

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