Pennsylvania State Capitol
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| Pennsylvania State Capitol Building | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
 East Plaza of the Pennsylvania State Capitol
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| Location: | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | 40°15′52″N 76°53′2″W / 40.26444°N 76.88389°W |
| Built/Founded: | 1902 |
| Architect: | Joseph M. Huston |
| Architectural style(s): | Beaux-Arts Renaissance Revival |
| Governing body: | State |
| Added to NRHP: | September 14, 1977 |
| Designated NHL: | September 20, 2006[1] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 77001162[2] |
The State Capitol of Pennsylvania, located in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is the seat of government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts style, with strong Italian Renaissance overtones, by architect Joseph M. Huston, whose design won over five other entries in a well-publicized architectural competition. The Capitol houses the Pennsylvania General Assembly and chambers for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (which also has chambers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), as well as the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and other state officials.
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[edit] History
The seat of government of Pennsylvania was moved from Philadelphia to Harrisburg in 1812. Construction began on the first capitol 1816 and was finished in 1822.[3] It was designed by Stephen Hills. The first capitol burned to the ground on February 2, 1897.
Construction on the new Capitol began in 1898.
On October 4, 1906 Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker dedicated the new State Capitol Building and President Theodore Roosevelt was the orator of the day. Following a tour of the new building, Roosevelt complimented the governor on this monumental project. A crowd of more than 50,000 people came on special Pennsylvania Railroad excursion trains to Harrisburg to hear President Roosevelt dedicate the building. His actual words differ according to different newspaper accounts: The Harrisburg Star Independent (October 5, 1906) claimed Roosevelt declared it to be the "most handsome state Capitol I have ever seen and I don't believe that there is a finer on earth," while the Harrisburg Patriot News (same date) reported that he simply claimed it to be "the handsomest building I ever saw." The Capitol was built and furnished at a cost of $13 million.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977[2] and was declared a National Historic Landmark on September 20, 2006.[4]
[edit] Description
The state Capitol was architecturally inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and many consider it the pinnacle of the Commonwealth as the finest state capitol building in the United States.[5] The brilliantly restored rotunda and Senate and House of Representatives Chambers are particularly exquisite spaces adorned with marble, murals, gold leaf and stained glass.
In Huston's original concept of the Capitol, he strove to unite architecture, sculpture and painting into an interpretation of Pennsylvania's rich southeast. Artists with work in or on the building include sculptors George Grey Barnard and Roland Hinton Perry, and muralists Violet Oakley and Edwin Austin Abbey.
The building can be seen from I-83, though the high-rise office buildings of downtown have blocked much of the view east of the Susquehanna River.
[edit] See also
- List of Governors of Pennsylvania
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
[edit] References
- ^ "National Historic Landmark Nomination" (PDF). National Park Service. 2006. http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/samples/pa/PA%20Capitol.pdf. Retrieved on December 7, 2008.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ Millard, Julian (1936). "First Capitol Buildings". Harrisburg, PA: Historic American Buildings Survey. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(PA0394)). Retrieved on December 7, 2008.
- ^ "Capitol Preservation Committee, Press Releases". Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee. 2006. http://cpc.state.pa.us/main/cpcweb/. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
- ^ Caffin, Charles H. (November 1906). "The New Capitol of Pennsylvania". The World's Work: A History of Our Time XIII: 8195-8210.
- Celebration of a Century - Centennial Celebration of the Pennsylvania State Capitol (2005). cpc.state.pa.us. December 29, 2005.
- History of the Pennsylvania Capitol
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pennsylvania State Capitol |
- Capitol Preservation Committee (Pennsylvania)
- Pennsylvania Capitol - information and tours
- Pennsylvania State Capitol tours
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