The national Capitol; its architecture, art and history . eCommissioners write, March 29, 1797, that he has drawn the plan of all thepublic offices to be erected in the City of Washington, and which have metwith the approbation of the President and the several Departments for whichthey are intended. His limitations are well summed up in their letter of the25th of June, 1798, to the Secretary of State : We believe Mr. Hadfield tobe a young man of taste but we have found him extremely deficient in prac-tical knowledge as an architect . . under Mr. Hadfields directions itnever could have been com
The national Capitol; its architecture, art and history . eCommissioners write, March 29, 1797, that he has drawn the plan of all thepublic offices to be erected in the City of Washington, and which have metwith the approbation of the President and the several Departments for whichthey are intended. His limitations are well summed up in their letter of the25th of June, 1798, to the Secretary of State : We believe Mr. Hadfield tobe a young man of taste but we have found him extremely deficient in prac-tical knowledge as an architect . . under Mr. Hadfields directions itnever could have been completed in an effectual manner. We therefore gaveMr. Hoban (who has heretofore superintended the Presidents house) theimmediate superintendence of the Capitol. Trumbull, however, is true tohis protege : His services were soon dispensed with, not because his knowl-edge was not eminent, but because his integrity compelled him to say, thatparts of the original plan could not be executed. Poor Hatfield languished * See Washingtons letter, Appendix, p. DR. WILLIAM THORNTON \r :N«* The National Capitol 21 many years in obscurity at Washington, where however, towards the close ofhis life, he had the opportunity of erecting a noble monument to himself inthe city hall, a beautiful building, in which is no waste of space or materials. James Hoban, who had settled in Charleston, S. C, prior to the Revo-lution, was a native of Ireland. He came to Washington in July, 1792, andon the 18th was employed at a salary of three hundred guineas a year. Heseems to have been a reliable and good man and to have enjoyed the respectand friendship of Thornton and others with whom he was associated. Hobanplanned, built, and rebuilt the White House ; and, indeed, was engaged uponthe public buildings for more than twenty-five years, though his supervision ofthe construction at the Capitol, whenever the Commissioners found it necessaryto utilize him there and possible to relieve him from other work, en
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