Infographic: Restoring the Capitol dome

© 2013 MCT

The restoration projectThe U.S. Capitol dome will be covered in scaffolding for about two years beginning next month as it undergoes its first complete restoration in more than five decades. The project, budgeted at nearly $60 million, will repair more than 1,000 cracks and deficiencies in the cast-iron dome, which is about 150 years old.

Source: Architect of the Capitol, EPA Graphic: Chicago Tribune

108Number of windows in the dome

8.9 millionWeight, in pounds (4 million kg), of the dome’s ironwork, built from 1855-66; Capitol’s first dome was built of wood covered in copper and was completed in 1824

288Height, in feet (88 m), from the base line on the building’s east side to the top of the statue

19.5 Height, in feet (6 m), of the dome-topping Statue of Freedom

U.S. Capitol dome by the numbers Some deterioration

Scaffolding rendering