In 1793 President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the United States Capitol. This event initiated the construction of a building which the statesmen and political leaders of the day hoped would be a grand monument to the democratic ideals of the young nation. To the extent that this first national government building in the Capital City achieved its lofty objective was due to the creativity and vision of Benjamin Latrobe. He served as architect of the United States Capitol from 1803 to 1813 and again from 1815 to 1817.
In 1803 the Trustees of Dickinson College laid the cornerstone of the first building on campus, now called Old West. Latrobe worked on these projects- the Capitol and the College-simultaneously. Although they differ markedly in scale and function, Latrobe's "special touches" are evident in both.
Benjamin Latrobe is regarded by architectural historians as the first American architect, the first professional who developed a style of his own.1 He designed a variety of structures-public buildings, private residences and cathedrals in Richmond, Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore-with a variety of appearances. While his contemporaries were either "gentlemen architects" who sketched imaginative buildings but lacked the expertise to construct them, or "carpenter/builders" who could build but not design, Latrobe combined the talents of the artist/designer and practical engineer.
Latrobe regarded architectural style as something derived from the past, but adaptable to a particular use in the present. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, he set forth his artistic credo:
My principles of good taste are rigid in Grecian architecture. I am a bigoted Greek in the condemnation of the Roman architecture . . . Wherever, therefore, the Grecian style can be copied without impropriety I love to be a mere, I would say a slavish copyist, but the forms and the distribution of the Roman and Greek buildings which remain, are in general, inapplicable to the objects and uses of our public buildings. Our religion requires a church wholly different from their temples, our legislative assemblies and our courts of justice, buildings of entirely different principles from their basilicas; and our amusements could not possibly be performed in their theatres and amphitheatres . . .. 2
He preferred geometric shapes, and combined spheres, rectangles and squares into intriguing designs. He is known for his domes, vaulted ceilings, and rotundas. Importantly, his designs were functional as well as beautiful. Latrobe thought in terms of large structures and grand styles, which led him to use stone, the medium of monuments, instead of the familiar brick or wood.
He was more than an architect and engineer. He was a talented painter, an eloquent writer, and a charming man. He influenced "the look" of America in his day as much as Washington and Jefferson influenced the government. He certainly influenced "the look" of Dickinson College when he insisted that Old West be faced with grey limestone.
Several notable paintings and portraits decorate the walls of the President's House of Dickinson College. Two favorites are the portraits hanging in the living room, of John McClintock and his first wife, Caroline Augusta. The portraits were given to the College by the Longacre family of Philadelphia, descendants of Caroline Augusta. Caroline's portrait was painted by Theodore Pine in 1850, when Caroline was thirty-six.