Washington's Tomb

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Washington's Tomb with Lincoln Catafalque.
Washington's Tomb with Lincoln Catafalque.

Washington's Tomb is a small room in the basement of the United States Capitol building. It was designed to entomb the body of President George Washington, the first President of the United States. The tomb is two levels beneath the ornate Capitol rotunda.

The original design of the rotunda, and the crypt beneath it, included a central glass floor allowing the public to view Washington's Tomb two floors below. This design was never implemented, however, and Washington was buried at Mount Vernon, his estate in nearby Virginia, in accordance with his will.

The tomb is now used to store the Lincoln Catafalque, a wooden support built in 1865 to hold the casket of Abraham Lincoln while his body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. The Catafalque most recently held the casket of President Gerald Ford.

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Architect of the Capitol