By Elliot Carter

These heaps of sandstone in the heart of Rock Creek Park used to be a part of the Capitol Building. They were taken down in 1958 when the east front was expanded and rebuilt in marble. Now they've been kind of forgotten.

Conflict Over The East Front Extension Project

The Architect of the Capitol William Steward wanted to see the eastern front rebuilt in marble. The old facade was cracking, it didn't line up with the Senate and House extensions, and he thought marble was just nicer.

Steward - a former one term congressman from Delaware - had never actually received any architectural training, and he faced a huge uphill challenge convincing people this was a good idea. A bitter war played out in Washington's editorial pages over the following months between the sandstone purists and the marble backers.

Powerful Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn liked the idea. But the American Institute of Architects blasted the proposal, called it a "desecration," and labeling Rayburn as a "historic barbarian."