Oklahoma State Capitol
Oklahoma State Capitol | |
 The Oklahoma State Capitol | |
| Location | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Built | 1919 |
| Architect | Manhattan Construction Company |
| Architectural style | Renaissance, Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001572[1] |
| Added to NRHP | 1976 |
The Oklahoma State Capitol, located in Oklahoma City, is the seat of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma and the location of the chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature.
Together with the surrounding government buildings and agencies and state museums, the area centred at N. Lincoln Blvd and E. 23rd Street forms the Oklahoma State Capitol campus, complete with capitol park and the governor's mansion.
Capitol campus should not be confused with the Capitol Hill neighborhood, located on Oklahoma City's Southside.
History
The First Capitol
Oklahoma's first capitol was located in the city of Guthrie. At Noon on April 22, 1889 cannons sounded the start of the Oklahoma land run. In only six hours about 10,000 people had settled in what would soon become the capitol Oklahoma Territory. Within only months Guthrie became a modern brick and stone "Queen of the Prairie" with municipal water, electricity, a mass transit system and underground parking garages for horses and carriages. Without the protection of the federal government Oklahoma's newly established government became part of political battle on where the capitol should be located. In the middle of the night, on June 11, 1910, the state seal was taken form Guthrie and moved to Oklahoma City, the new and present state capitol.[2]
The Second Capitol
The current capitol is the second for the state and is in Oklahoma City. Manhattan Construction Company began construction of the relocated Capitol on July 20, 1914 under the direction of Governor Lee Cruce. It was delivered to the state on July 1, 1917 though it wasn't finished until 1919. The completed building had over 400,000 square feet (37,000 m²) in thirty-six floors.
Crowning the Capitol
The original plans called for the capitol building to feature a dome (similar to most state capitols); however, budget constraints prevented construction on the dome from beginning until 2000 (a period of 83 years).In 2000, Governor Frank Keating announced that a dome would be constructed to complete the capitol building at a cost of $21 million. The dome was to stand 155 feet (47 m) high with a 17 foot (5 m) tall bronze Native American statue on top of the dome, in honor of Oklahoma's Native American heritage. Master artist Enoch Kelly Haney (formerly an Oklahoma State Senator and later Chief of the Seminole Nation) created "The Guardian" statue that stands on top of the dome designed by Frankfurt-Short-Bruza. Manhattan Construction Company and Flintco, Inc. worked to build the dome to historical specifications.
The dome was completed and dedicated on Oklahoma's Statehood Day, November 16, 2002.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- The state capitol grounds are famous for active oil wells located there and remains the only state capitol with oil rigs on the property. They are easily visible from the street. Oklahoma City sits directly on top of the Oklahoma City Oil Field.
- The state capitol was originally announced by the capitol commission to be built far from downtown at NW 42nd and Ann Arbor. The proposal, by Israel Putnam, was approved and plans were laid for the capitol to front NW 39th Street. Later, the commission was deemed to be illegal and a new commission accepted a proposal from E.K. Gaylord and others for the present site of the capitol grounds.
External links
Template:Geolinks-US-streetscale
| Districts | |
|---|---|
| Professional sports teams | |
- ^ "National Register of Historical Places - Oklahoma (OK), Oklahoma County". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-12-04.
- ^ "History of Guthrie". Guthrie Oklahoma. Guthrie Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce. 2007-12-04.