With extensive balconied atriums through the wings and a large central rotunda under a low dome which dominated the city, it was completed in 1820 after five years of work and endured into the early twentieth century.

Latrobe spent the later years of his life in New Orleans, Louisiana working on a waterworks project, and died there in 1820 from yellow fever.

[citation needed] Latrobe was born on May 1, 1764, at the Fulneck Moravian Settlement, near Pudsey in the city of Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England.

His parents were the Reverend Benjamin Latrobe, a leader of the Moravian Church who was of Huguenot (French Protestant) ancestry, and Anna Margaretta Antes whose father was German and whose maternal line was Dutch.

[2] Antes was born in the American colony of Pennsylvania, but was sent to England by her father, a wealthy landowner, to attend a Moravian school at Fulneck.

Latrobe's father, who was responsible for all Moravian schools and establishments in Britain, had an extensive circle of friends in the higher ranks of society.

He stressed the importance of education, scholarship, and the value of social exchange; while Latrobe's mother instilled in her son a curiosity and interest in America.

[6][7] After recovering, he embarked on a continental "Grand Tour", visiting eastern Saxony, Paris, Italy, and other places.

[16] Latrobe was involved in construction of the Basingstoke Canal in Surrey, together with engineers John Smeaton and William Jessop.

Latrobe arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, in mid-March 1796 after a harrowing four-month journey aboard the ship, which was plagued with food shortages under near-starvation conditions.

[25] Latrobe initially spent time in Norfolk, where he designed the "William Pennock House," then set out for Richmond in April 1796.

[32] While in Virginia, Latrobe worked on the Green Spring mansion near Williamsburg, which had been built by Governor Sir William Berkeley in the seventeenth century but fell into disrepair after the American Revolutionary War.

At the time, the political climate in Philadelphia was quite different than Virginia, with a strong division between the Federalists and Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, along with anti-French sentiment, thus the city was not entirely welcoming for Latrobe.

[46] Latrobe's first major project in Philadelphia was to design the Bank of Pennsylvania, which was the first example of Greek Revival architecture in the United States.

The Pump House, located on the common at Broad and Market Streets (now the site of Philadelphia City Hall), was designed by Latrobe in a Greek Revival style.

[49] It drew water from the Schuylkill River, a mile away, and contained two steam engines that pumped it into wooden tanks in its tower.

[58] Although Latrobe's major work was overseeing construction of the United States Capitol, he also was responsible for numerous other projects in Washington.

[59] Latrobe faced bureaucratic hurdles in moving forward with the canal, with the directors of the company rejecting his request for stone locks.

[62] Latrobe also provided consulting on the construction of the Washington Bridge across the Potomac River in a way that would not impede navigation and commerce to Georgetown.

[64] Private homes designed by Latrobe include commissions by John P. Van Ness and Peter Casanove.

[68] He resigned as Architect of the Capitol on November 20, 1817, and without this major commission, Latrobe faced difficulties and was forced into bankruptcy.

His work on the United States Capitol was completed shortly before the War of 1812 started, ending his source of steady income.

[61] While studying in Germany, Latrobe was mentored by Baron Karl von Schachmann, a classical scholar interested in art and collecting.

[75] While Latrobe was in Germany, a new architectural movement, led by Carl Gotthard Langhans and others, was emerging with return to more Classical or Vitruvian designs.

[76] In 1784, Latrobe set off on a Grand Tour around Europe, visiting Paris where the Panthéon, a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, was nearing completion.

The Panthéon in Paris, designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot and Jean-Baptiste Rondelet, represented an early example of Neoclassicism.

Latrobe was not interested in either the Palladian nor Adam style, but Neoclassicalism also was being introduced to Great Britain at the time by George Dance the Younger.

Other British architects, including John Soane and Henry Holland, also designed in the Neoclassical style while Latrobe was in London.

[80][81] The American form of Greek Revival architecture that Latrobe developed became associated with political ideals of democracy—a meaning that was less apparent in Britain.

[88] The mansion was built in 1799 and demolished in 1857; however, the stone Porter's house at Sedgeley remains as his only extant building in Philadelphia.