Florida State Capitol

Florida Capitol buildings (Old Capitol in foreground)
Coordinates:30°26′17.1″N 84°16′52.6″W

The Florida State Capitol is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Florida. It houses executive and legislative offices and the chambers of the Florida Legislature (consisting of the Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives). The capitol is located at the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and Monroe Street in downtown Tallahassee, Florida, the state capital.

The Capitol is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (excluding state holidays).

History

Tallahassee was named Florida's capital in 1824, midway between the then-largest cities, St. Augustine and Pensacola.

Architecture and layout

The Capitol complex design was a joint venture of the architectural firms of Edward Durell Stone of New York and Reynolds, Smith and Hills of Jacksonville. It was built according to Stone's signature style of "New Classicism," with an ornate grill surrounding a white-columned box. The design symbolized the growth and development of Florida.

The Capitol is usually referred to as a twenty-two story building. However, including the 3 underground floors, it is a 25 story building (6th floor is only accessible through the freight elevator). The Governor and the Cabinet members have their offices on the Plaza Level of the Capitol. Floors two through four of the base structure of the Capitol are used for the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives; the offices of the Senate President, Secretary and Sergeant at Arms; the House Speaker, Clerk, and Sergeant at Arms; some legislative committee offices and meeting rooms; and Member offices. The Legislative Chambers are on the fourth floor with their respective public viewing galleries on the fifth floor. The floors between the observation deck and the first five floors are executive and legislative offices. There is a cafeteria on the Lower Level, a snack bar on the tenth floor, and the Florida Welcome Center just inside the west Plaza Level entrance. The Senate office building and the House office building are each four stories high and located on either end of Capitol Complex. The 2nd and 3rd floors have bridges that allow people to walk between the Capitol and office buildings. These buildings contain primarily committee meeting rooms and legislative offices. The Knott Building was attached to the Capitol via a skywalk in 1999. The west front is known formally as Waller Park, for Curtis L. Walter, Judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2003, the dolphin statue “Stormsong” was added within Waller Park’s Florida Heritage Fountain.

Statistics

The Capitol was built using:

• 3,700 tons of structural steel
• 2,800 tons of reinforcing steel
• 25,000 cubic yards (19,000 m³) of concrete (the equivalent of 16 football fields, each one foot thick).
• It also has 12,000 square feet (1,100 m²) of walnut paneling
• 12,000 gallons (45,000 L) of paint
• 62,000 square feet (5,800 m²) of Italian marble (about 1.5 acres).

In addition, there were:

• 60,000 square feet (6,000 m²) of carpet
• 92,000 square feet (8,500 m²) of terrazzo flooring
• 30 miles (48 km) of telephone cable
• 250 miles (400 km) of electrical wire

For the 1,016 days it took to build the New Capitol, an estimated 3.2 million man-hours of labor were expended. The total area is 718,000 sq ft (66,700 m²), which is equal to approximately 400 homes. Inside the Capitol, there are 66 public restrooms, 40 sets of stairs, 14 elevators, 360 underground parking spaces, and over 2,000 doors. The cost for the Capitol was $43,070,741. An additional $1,957,338 was committed to landscaping and to the plaza, fountains, and steps on the west front. The grand total was $45,028,079.

Approximately 1,500 persons work in the Capitol during a large part of the year. However, when the Legislature is in session, an estimated 5,000 persons occupy the building. The architects and engineers who designed and built the Capitol estimated its working life at a century.

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See also

• Marshall Ledbetter

External links

• History of Florida's Capitols - Florida Department of State
• The Old Capitol (The Florida Center of Political History and Governance)
• Florida Department of Management Services