Kansas State Capitol

Kansas State Capitol
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Kansas State Capitol
Location:	Bound by 8th and 10th Aves. and Jackson and Harrison Sts., Topeka, Kansas
Area:	20 acres (8.1 ha)
Built:	1866
Architectural style:	Other, French Renaissance
Governing body:	State
NRHP Reference#:	71000330
Added to NRHP:	September 3, 1971

The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the executive and legislative branches of government for the U.S. state of Kansas. It is located in the city of Topeka which has served as the capital of Kansas since it became a state in 1861. This is only the second building to serve as the Kansas Capitol.

A large mural in the east wing, painted by Kansan John Steuart Curry, is centered on an image of abolitionist John Brown. This is believed to be the only instance of a person convicted of treason being featured in a state capitol.

The dome, at 304 ft (93 m), is taller than the 288 ft (88 m) United States Capitol dome although its diameter (50 ft (15 m)) is approximately half the national capitol (96 ft (29 m)). It is one of the few capitols in the United States that continues to offer tours that go to the top of the dome. The dome is, however, temporarily closed to visitors until 2012, as the Statehouse is undergoing extensive renovations. Visitors enter the dome by climbing 296 steps leading from the fifth floor to the top.

History

The land for Capitol Square was donated by Cyrus K. Holliday via his Topeka Town Company in 1862. The master architect was Edward Townsend Mix with the wings designed by John G. Haskell. Construction on the East Wing began in 1866, using "native" limestone from Geary County, Kansas. Construction began on the West Wing in 1879 using limestone from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas and in 1881, the legislature authorized and appropriated funds for the construction of a central building to link the two wings. Construction of this central building began in 1886, and the contract for dome construction was let in May, 1889. Almost 100 years later, during 1988, a design for the sculpture to stand atop the dome was finally approved. Ad Astra, a 22'-2" bronze sculpture weighing 4402 lbs, was installed atop the dome on October 10, 2002. The sculpture depicts a Kansa Native American with bow and arrow pointed at the North Star and was chosen from 27 entries to adorn the dome. The title Ad Astra is Latin shortening of the state motto Ad Astra Per Aspera To the stars with difficulty. The sculptor is Richard Bergen.

In 1898, Jerome Fedeli painted frescos near the top of the dome in the rotunda. Fedeli's work depicted bare-breasted classical women. However officials referred to the paintings as "Nude Telephone Girls" and had them painted-over. In the 1930s, John Steuart Curry painted murals on the second floor including the building's most famous painting—Tragic Prelude—which depicts an oversize and raging John Brown wedged between flames and a tornado. Curry's work gained considerable notoriety for depicting unsavory aspects of Kansas history and he left them unsigned and did not complete a commission to paint murals in the rotunda. From 1976 to 1978, Lumen Martin Winter painted the murals in the rotunda.

In popular culture

The building was featured prominently on Kansas license plates issued from January 2001 until April 2007.

External links

• Kansas State Capitol - tours operated by the Kansas Historical Society