Alabama State Capitol

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First Confederate Capitol
The Alabama State Capitol in 2010
Alabama State Capitol is located in Alabama
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Coordinates: 32°22′38.81″N 86°18′3.39″W / 32.3774472°N 86.3009417°W / 32.3774472; -86.3009417Coordinates: 32°22′38.81″N 86°18′3.39″W / 32.3774472°N 86.3009417°W / 32.3774472; -86.3009417
Built: 1850–51
Architectural style: Greek Revival
Governing body: State
NRHP Reference#: 66000152
Significant dates
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL: December 19, 1960[2]

The Alabama State Capitol, also known as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. It is located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960.[2][3]

Alabama has had five political capitals during its history. The first was the territorial capital in St. Stephens in 1817, followed by the state convention in Huntsville in 1819, then the first "permanent" capital in Cahaba in 1820. It was then moved to Tuscaloosa in 1826, until coming to rest in Montgomery in 1846. The current capitol building is the state's fourth purpose-built capitol, with the first at Cahaba, the second at Tuscaloosa, and the last two in Montgomery. The first capitol building in Montgomery, located where the current building stands, burned after only two years. The current building was completed in 1851, although additional wings were added over the course of the following 140 years.[4]

The current capitol building temporarily served as the Confederate Capitol while Montgomery served as the first political capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861, before being moved to Richmond, Virginia. Meeting in the Senate Chamber, the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States was drawn up by the Montgomery Convention on February 4, 1861. The convention also adopted the Permanent Constitution here on March 11, 1861.[5][6] Over one hundred years later the third Selma to Montgomery march ended at the front steps of the same building, with the marches and events surrounding them directly leading to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[6]

Architecturally, the building is Greek Revival in style with some Beaux-Arts influences. The central core of the building, as well as the east wing to the rear of the structure, is three-stories over a below-grade basement. The north and south wings are two-stories over a raised basement.[7][8] The front facade that is seen today is approximately 350 feet (110 m) wide and 119 feet (36 m) tall from ground level to the top of the lantern on the dome.[9]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] First capitol building

The first Montgomery capitol building, destroyed by fire in 1849.

The first capitol building to be built in Montgomery was designed by Stephen Decatur Button of Philadelphia. Andrew Dexter, one of the Montgomery's founders, kept a prime piece of property empty in anticipation of the capital eventually being moved to Montgomery from Tuscaloosa. This property, atop what was then known as Goat Hill due to its use as a pasture, was chosen as the site for the new capitol building. Construction began in 1846, with the new building presented to the state on December 6, 1847.[4] Button credited much of his architectural inspiration to Minard Lafever's Beauties of Modern Architecture.[10]

Button's building was stuccoed brick, with two full stories set over a rusticated raised basement. A two story monumental portico with six Composite columns, topped by a broad pediment, was centered on the middle five bays of the front elevation. A central dome, 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, sat directly on a supporting ring at the main roof level behind the portico. The dome was crowned with an elaborate lantern patterned after the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. This first capitol building burned on December 14, 1849, little more than two years after its completion.[4] The ruins were cleared by March 1850, with a new building soon to follow.[10]

[edit] Current capitol building

The capitol building in 1886, with newly completed rear wing extension visible.

The current capitol building was built from 1850 to 1851, with Barachias Holt as supervising architect.[4][7][8] Holt, originally from Exeter, Maine, was a master mechanic by trade. Following his work on the capitol he created a successful sash, door, and blind factory in Montgomery.[10]

The new building utilized the brick foundations and general layout of Button's previous structure, with modifications by Holt. The modifications included a full three-story building and three-story front portico, this time without a pediment. Holt's dome was a departure from the previous work also, this time the wood and cast iron dome was supported on a ring of Corinthian columns and topped with a simple twelve-sided glazed lantern. John P. Figh and James D. Randolph were the principal contractors. Figh had previously completed extensive brickwork on the William Nichols-designed campus for the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Randolph was in charge of the carpentry work, which was at least partially accomplished by subcontractors.[10] Nimrod E. Benson and Judson Wyman were the building supervisors.[4][7][8]

The new capitol building was first occupied by the Alabama Legislature on October 1, 1851. The clock over the portico was installed in February 1852. With the secession of Alabama and six other Deep South states and subsequent formation of the Confederacy in February 1861, the building served as its first capitol until May 22, 1861.[2] A commemorative brass marker in the shape of a six-pointed star is set at the precise location where Jefferson Davis stood on February 18, 1861 to take his oath of office as the only President of the Confederate States of America.[7]

Satellite view of the capitol building and grounds (center), with north at the top of image. Surrounding the capitol (clockwise from top right-hand corner) are the Folsom Administration Building, the Alabama State House, the Public Safety Building, and the Lurleen B. Wallace Building.

In 1961 Governor John Patterson flew the Confederate battle flag over the capitol in celebration of the centennial of the Civil War. It later continued to be flown as a symbol of defiance to the federal government's desegregation policies.[11] The flag remained until it was removed in 1993 after a state judge ruled that a 1895 state statute allows only the national or state flags to fly over the capitol.[12]

The building served as home to the Alabama Legislature until 1985, when it moved to the Alabama State House. Officially, this move was temporary, since the Alabama Constitution requires that the Legislature meet in the capitol. In 1984, a constitutional amendment was passed that allowed the Legislature to move to another building if the capitol were to be renovated. The renovation started in 1985 and was completed in 1992. Upon the reopening of the building, the Governor of Alabama and numerous other state offices moved back into the building, but the legislature remained at the State House.[13]

On May 7, 2009, the Legislature reconvened in the capitol for the first time since September 20, 1985, due to flooding in the State House. This required some adapting, as the capitol did not have desks in the House chamber and those in the Senate chamber were 1861 replicas. Neither chamber has a computerized voting system. The capitol building's heating and air conditioning is supplied from the State House. Because the electricity had been turned off in the State House due to the flooding, there was no air conditioning in the capitol.[14]

[edit] Architecture

The original core of the building, as well as the subsequent additions, is essentially Greek Revival in style. The 1851 three-story core of the building features bays defined by Doric pilasters and a monumental portico utilizing the Composite order. The original core of the building is 150 by 70 feet (46 × 21 m), with an original central rear judiciary wing measuring 40 by 50 feet (12 × 15 m). The first extension to the rear added another 70 by 50 feet (21 × 15 m). Each side-wing is 100 by 92 feet (30 × 28 m).[7][8][9]

The additions started with an extension to the east wing on the building's rear facade in 1885. Then a south wing with Beaux-Arts influences was added in 1906. An externally identical north wing was completed in 1912. The matching side-wings were designed by Montgomery architect Frank Lockwood, in consultation with Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White.[7] The symmetrical north and south side-wings feature two-story hexastyle Ionic entrance porticoes on their north and south elevations, respectively. A complete renovation of the entire structure was completed in 1992 by the architecture group Holmes and Holmes. At this time a new east wing addition with a new three-story tetrastyle portico was built. The new portico includes columns that match the Composite order originals of the main entrance portico on the 1851 west elevation.[4][7]

[edit] The interior

View on second floor of one of the cantilevered spiral staircases designed by Horace King.

Upon entering the ground floor of the capitol building, one enters the main stairhall. It is the location of cantilevered stairways that spiral up to the third floor. The twin cantilevered spiral staircases are among the building's finest original architectural features.[3] They were designed and built by architect Horace King, a former slave who was freed in 1846.[15]

Due to his renown in Alabama and surrounding states as a bridge builder, the Alabama Legislature passed a special law that exempted him from the state's manumission laws, which normally required that freed slaves leave the state within one year of gaining their freedom. During the post-war Reconstruction Era he served two terms in the Alabama House of Representatives, in the capitol building that he had helped to design and build.[15]

Immediately east of the stairhall is the ground floor of the rotunda.[16] The ground floor of the rotunda, not physically open to the upper rotunda floors, contains the memorial sculpture Lurleen Burns Wallace (1968) by F. R. Schoenfeld. Wallace was Alabama's only female governor and died while in office in 1968.[17] From there, hallways leading to offices branch off into the north and south wings. The next major room on the ground floor is the old Supreme Court Chamber, part of the original capitol plan. Located in the east (rear) wing, it is the only portion of the wing dating back to 1851. It is a large rectangular room, one story high, with a concave entry wall and two robust Ionic columns visually dividing the space near the center of the room. Later east wing expansions continue on eastward from this room.[16]

The second floor is accessed via the main stairhall. From there the open rotunda is accessed to the east. The rotunda leads to the east wing offices, the old Senate Chamber in the north wing and the old House of Representatives Chamber in the south wing.[16]

The dome interior as seen from the floor of the rotunda.

The interior of the capitol building is centered on the axial rotunda, which is topped by a large dome. The rotunda is open from the second floor and through the third floor to the top of the dome.[16] The dome interior is decorated with eight painted murals by Roderick MacKenzie, a Scottish-born artist who relocated to Alabama. The murals illustrate MacKenzie's artistic interpretation of the history of Alabama. The murals were executed on canvas from 1926 to 1930 at his Mobile studio. They were then shipped to Montgomery by railroad and installed in July 1930.[8]

The murals depict the hostile meeting of Hernando de Soto and Tuskaloosa in 1540, the establishment of the colonial French capital of Mobile by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville from 1702–1711, the surrender of William Weatherford to Andrew Jackson in 1814, pioneers settling the Alabama wilderness in 1816, the drafting of the Constitution of Alabama in 1818, wealth and leisure during the antebellum era from 1840–1860, the inauguration of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on the capitol steps in 1861, and, finally, prosperity following the development of resources from 1874–1930.[18]

The Old House Chamber as it appeared during the 1910s.

Both legislative chambers date to the original 1851 construction. Both of them are rectangular in shape and extend upward through the third floor, with a mezzanine gallery on that level. The galleries in both chambers are supported by Corinthian columns. Those in the old Senate Chamber are gilded, while those in the old House of Representatives Chamber are simply painted. The old Senate Chamber is the smaller of the two legislative chambers, with a mezzanine in a circular pattern stretching around all four sides of the room, broken only above lectern platform. The old House Chamber is larger, with a curvilinear mezzanine on three walls that merges into each side wall before reaching the lectern platform wall.[16]

The Old House Chamber was the site of several events leading to the Civil War. The Alabama Succession Convention met here on January 11, 1861 and voted to withdraw from the Union. Then, the Confederate States of America was organized here via a provisional constitution on February 4, 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected as its first president on February 9, 1861, and finally the permanent Confederate constitution brought into effect on March 11, 1861.[3]

[edit] The grounds

The Confederate Memorial Monument in 2009.

The landscape plan for Capitol Hill surrounding the capitol building was originally designed by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted in 1889.[19] The grounds still contain many trees and scrubs from that period, in addition to numerous monuments.[3] Major features of the grounds include the Confederate Memorial Monument and the Avenue of Flags. Statuary on the capitol grounds includes Albert Patterson (1961), Duty Called (1986) by Branko Medenica, James Marion Sims (1939) by Biancio Melarango, Jefferson Davis (1940) by Frederick Cleveland Hibbard, John Allan Wyeth (1930s) by Gutzon Borglum, Joseph Lister Hill (1969) by Gualberto Rocchi.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

[edit] Confederate Memorial Monument

On the north side of Capitol Hill there is a monument dedicated to Alabama's more than 122,000 Confederate veterans of the American Civil War, known as the Confederate Memorial Monument. The 88-foot (27 m) tall monument was dedicated on December 7, 1898, although it had been planned as early as November 1865.[27] Funding for the monument included $20,000 in the form of two grants from the state legislature, $10,000 contributed by the Ladies Memorial Association of Alabama, $6,755 from the Historical and Monumental Association of Alabama that was formed in 1865 to support the erection of this monument, and $5,000 from politicians.[28]

Design of the monument was done by Gorda C. Doud and executed by sculptor Alexander Doyle of New York City.[29] The design was to feature a stepped base surmounted by statuary representing the four branches of the military. Centered on top of this was to be a monumental bronze and limestone column, topped with a bronze figure by Doyle representing "Patriotism." The cornerstone was laid by Jefferson Davis on April 29, 1886.[27]

The south wing portico and a portion of the Avenue of Flags from Washington Avenue in 2010.

The base was built with Alabama limestone from Russellville, but problems occurred with the limestone for the column being found to be faulty. Although records are not complete, recent analysis has indicated that the column was eventually built using stone from Bedford, Indiana. Relations between Doyle and his monument clients had soured by the late 1880s. The remaining granite figures for the base, representing the military branches, were contracted from Barnicoat Monuments in Quincy, Massachusetts.[27]

Critics have repeatedly called for the monument's removal, stating that it promotes white supremacy. These removal attempts have met with considerable resistance from preservationists and others. The monument was vandalized in 2007, with black paint sprayed on the stone and bronze.[30][31]

[edit] Avenue of Flags

The Avenue of Flags is another major feature of the Alabama State Capitol grounds. It is a grouping of the flags of the U.S. states, with a native stone from each state, engraved with its name, at the base of each flagpole. The flagpoles are arranged in a semi-circle between the Ionic portico of the capitol building's south wing and Washington Avenue. It was completed during the term of Governor Albert Brewer, being officially dedicated on April 6, 1968.[32]

[edit] Tourism

The areas that are open for tourists are the entry stairhall, the old Governors Office, the old State Supreme Court, the old Supreme Court Library, the rotunda, the old House of Representatives, and the old Senate Chamber. The building and grounds are maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2006-03-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  2. ^ a b c "First Confederate Capitol". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=75&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  3. ^ a b c d Blanche Higgins Schroer (September 29, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Confederate Capitol / Alabama State Capitol, National Park Service and Accompanying 3 photos, 1 aerial and 2 exterior views, undated.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Capitals of Alabama". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Alabama Department of Archives and History. http://www.archives.state.al.us/capital/capitals.html. Retrieved July 8, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Background of the Confederate States Constitution". Civil War Home. http://www.civilwarhome.com/csaconstitutionbackground.htm. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  6. ^ a b c "Alabama State Capitol". Alabama Historical Commission. www.preserveala.org. http://www.preserveala.org/capitol.aspx?sm=g_b%20website. Retrieved July 8, 2011. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Gamble, Robert (1987). The Alabama Catalog: A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State. University, AL: University of Alabama Press. pp. 144, 323–324. ISBN 0817301488. 
  8. ^ a b c d e Bowsher, Alice Meriwether (2001). Alabama Architecture. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0817310819. 
  9. ^ a b Daniel, Jean Houston; Daniel, Price (1969). Executive Mansions and Capitols of America. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Country Beautiful. p. 145. 
  10. ^ a b c d Lane, Mills (1989). Architecture of the Old South: Alabama and Mississippi. Savannah, Georgia: The Beehive Press. pp. 88–93. ISBN 0883220385. 
  11. ^ "14 Black Legislators on Trial For Protest Over Rebel Flag". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 3, 1988. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDC173EF930A35752C1A96E948260. Retrieved January 1, 2009. 
  12. ^ Dedman IV, James M. (Fall 2001). "At Daggers Drawn: The Confederate Flag and the School Classroom - A Case Study of a Broken First Amendment Formula". Baylor Law Review 53: 877, 884. 
  13. ^ "Visitor's Guide to the Alabama Legislature". State of Alabama. http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/visitorsguide/visitorsguide.html#anchor984329. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  14. ^ "In Pictures: Flooded Out Legislature Meets in Alabama Capitol". The Birmingham News. May 7, 2009. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/05/in_pictures_flooded_out_legisl.html. Retrieved May 7, 2009. 
  15. ^ a b Lupold, John S.; French, Thomas L. (2004). Bridging Deep South Rivers: The Life and Legend of Horace King (1807-1885). Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. pp. 123–130. ISBN 0820326267. 
  16. ^ a b c d e "Alabama State Capitol, Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Montgomery County, AL". Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/al0643/. Retrieved January 30, 2012. 
  17. ^ "Lurleen Burns Wallace (1928-1968), (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!429~!7&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  18. ^ "The Murals Beneath the Dome". AlabamaStuff.net. http://www.alabamastuff.net/capitol.html. Retrieved 2009-03-08. 
  19. ^ Tom Dolan. "Historic Summary of Old Cloverdale". The Old Cloverdale Associate. http://www.oldcloverdale.org/history.html. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  20. ^ "Albert Patterson, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!416~!12&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  21. ^ "Duty Called, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!331367~!4&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  22. ^ "James Marion Sims - Father of Modern Gynecology, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!438~!5&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  23. ^ "Jefferson Davis, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!433~!3&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  24. ^ "John Allan Wyeth, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!417~!10&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  25. ^ "Bronze statue of Dr. John Allan Wyeth on the grounds of the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.". ADAH Digital Archives. Alabama Department of Archives and History. http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/photo&CISOPTR=2484&CISOBOX=1&REC=3. Retrieved February 2, 2012. 
  26. ^ "Joseph Lister Hill, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!329820~!6&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  27. ^ a b c Michael W. Panhorst. "Confederate Monument on Capitol Hill". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-3086. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  28. ^ Cameron Freeman Napier. "Ladies Memorial Association". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Auburn University. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-2123. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  29. ^ "The Confederate Monument, (sculpture).". Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture. Smithsonian American Art Museum. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1X2N218330902.6762&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!441~!1&ri=5&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=Alabama+State+Capitol&index=.OW&uindex=&aspect=Keyword&menu=search&ri=5. 
  30. ^ Desiree Hunter (Nov 15, 2007). "Alabama Capitol's Confederate monument vandalized". The Decatur Daily. http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/071115/cap.shtml. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  31. ^ "First On WSFA 12 News: State Confederate Monument Vandalized At Capitol". WSFA 12. Nov 14, 2007. http://www.wsfa.com/story/7357033/first-on-wsfa-12-news-state-confederate-monument-vandalized-at-capitol. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 
  32. ^ "Avenue of Flags". Alabama Stuff. http://www.alabamastuff.net/cflag.html. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 

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