Dear hose7-ga;
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. At your
request I am merely re-posting my information here in order to
officially close your question.
Short of an absolute answer I can offer you this, which appears to be
as much as is presently known about the Washington Cornerstone:
?George Washington laid the cornerstone, anointing it with wine and
oil in Masonic style. The cornerstone was promptly lost, and its
whereabouts remain among DC's abiding mysteries.?
THINGS TO DO IN WASHINGTON DC
http://www.thingstodo-washingtondc.com/
?The cornerstone was laid by George Washington in a Masonic ceremony
on September 18, 1793, and in November 1800, both the Senate and the
House of Representatives moved down from Philadelphia to occupy the
first completed section: the boxlike portion between the central
rotunda and today's north wing. (Subsequent efforts to find the
cornerstone Washington laid have been unsuccessful??
THE TRAVEL CHANNEL
http://travel.discovery.com/destinations/fodors/washingtondc/sightsacts_31004_1.html
?On September 18, 1793, President George Washington laid the
cornerstone for the United States Capitol. While the silver trowel and
marble gavel used for the ceremony are still displayed, repeated
efforts to locate the cornerstone itself have been unsuccessful.?
CAPITOL TAX PARTNERS
http://www.capitoltax.com/
With that in mind, we must rely almost entirely on depiction for the
best answer. This painting by renowned artist Allyn Cox, which is
displayed inside the US Capitol along with many other historical
depictions, indicates that the dimensions of the stone were roughly 2
ft. wide x 1 ft. high x 4 ft. long (depending of course on how it was
laid).
THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/cox_corr/h_caps/capitol_cornerstone.cfm
The same is true of the painting at the George Washington Masonic
Memorial. You can seen the stone being laid in the right background
between the man on Washington?s left (holding the pillow) and the
woman in the white gown (seated). The dimensions in this Allyn Cox
painting appear to be roughly the same.
GEORGE WASHINGTON MASONIC MEMORIAL
http://www.gwmemorial.org/Tour/MemorialHall/MemorialHall.htm
http://www.gwmemorial.org/Tour/MemorialHall/images/CornerstoneNew.jpg
Comparatively, here is a cornerstone laid at the Jones Point
Lighthouse at the direction of George Washington on January 24, 1791
(just two years earlier) that seems to have had roughly the same
dimensions, though it has eroded somewhat over time.
(The stone is now encased in this vault)
http://oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/archaeology/jonespoint/images/dc_cornerstone.gif
(Here is an image of the actual stone)
http://www.wilsonbridge.com/images/dccornerstone.jpg
Assuming this was a typical cornerstone of the time couple with the
dimensions depicted in the Cox historical paintings, the evidence
suggests that the stone Washington laid was, in all likelihood,
approximately the same size.
As I said this information does not represent an absolute conclusion,
but in the absence of actual evidence (which may never be known for
certain).
I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
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George
Washington
DC
Capitol
Cornerstone
Dimensions
September 18
1793 |
