Commemorative arch in Great Hall. The architectural style of the Thomas Jefferson Building is an example of the Beaux-Arts style, which is theatrical, heavily ornamented and kinetic. The materials - marble, granite, bronze, gold, mahogany - were expensive but would last a thousand years. The Thomas Jefferson Building, containing some of the richest public interiors in the United States, is a compendium of the work of classically trained American sculptors and painters. Edward Pearce Casey is credited with the artistic supervision of the building's unique decorative program. Levin Corbin Handy, 1897 (cropped and cleaned).