The Arkansas State Capitol Building, located in Little Rock, is the main house of government of the state of Arkansas.
Interior view of the Arkansas State Capitol Dome
[edit] History
The winning competition design from 1896 for the
Montana State Capitol by George R. Mann, became the model for the Arkansas State Capitol.
In 1899, the St. Louis architect George R. Mann visited the governor of Arkansas Daniel W. Jones, and presented his drawings of his winning competition design for the Montana State Capitol, which had not been built. They were hung on the walls of the old Capitol to generate interest in a new building. The drawings' attractiveness eased the passage of the bills for the new building, and also drew attention to the architect. In 1899, Mann was selected as architect by a seven-member commission that included future governor George W. Donaghey. Donaghey opposed Mann's selection and advocated a national design competition, but the majority of the commission voted for Mann.[2]
Construction took 16 years – from 1899 to 1915. The Capitol was built on the site of the state penitentiary and prisoners helped construct the building. They lived in a dormitory that was left on the Capitol grounds while construction was taking place.
The Capitol construction site was aligned incorrectly by the builder, future Governor George Donaghey, due to his failure to use surveying instruments. Instead, he aligned the plot visually using Fifth Street as a guide without recognizing that the street was not aligned east–west; Fifth Street was parallel to the Arkansas River.[citation needed] Therefore, the structure is situated in a north–south manner from end-to-end which does not fit the grid street pattern of Little Rock's downtown.
[edit] Architecture
The entrance to the capitol building
The exterior of the Capital is made of limestone, which was quarried in Batesville, Arkansas. Total construction cost was $2.2 million with today's value of the building being $320 million. The front entrance doors are made of bronze, which are 10 feet (3 metres) tall, four inches (10 cm) thick and were purchased from Tiffany's in New York for $10,000. The cupola is covered in 24 karat gold leaf. The government was formerly located in the Old State House.
[edit] Monuments and memorials
The Arkansas State Capitol grounds has multiple monuments and memorials representing various parts of the state's past and present. They include the Monument to Confederate Soldiers, Liberty Bell replica, Bauxite and Granite Boulders, Confederate War Prisoners Memorial, Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arkansas Medal of Honor Memorial, Memorial Fountain, Monument to Confederate Women, and Little Rock Nine Civil Rights Memorial.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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