Lincoln recognized that completing the Capitol Dome would send a signal to the nation and the world about a strong United States.

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He promised to be lowered by helicopter to the capitol dome and rappel down the side of the building, and that would sure be something to see.

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That means if his recipe for longevity -- fresh fruit, daily exercise and "an optimistic attitude toward life" -- holds, he could celebrate his 100th birthday under the Capitol dome December 5, 2002.

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He gives speeches, he gives interviews, he says words, but he doesn't really rally people, doesn't create a wave that breaks over the top of the Capitol Dome and drowns the opposition, or even dampens it for a moment.

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The coffin was carried up the steps to the Capitol and placed in the centre of the Rotunda, a large circular room below the Capitol's dome.

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Dome, United States Capitol, Washington D.

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When Mary Zurhorst Gray was a young girl living in 1920s Washington DC, she used to watch the great dome of the US Congress building, the Capitol, from her home two blocks away.

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Chuck Schumer drew our attention to the construction of the Capitol, particularly the Statue of Freedom that stands at the top of the dome.

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