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It has been suggested that 2001 attack on the California State Capitol be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
| California State Capitol | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 The California State Capitol
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| Location: | Sacramento, California |
| Built/Founded: | 1860-1874 |
| Architect: | M. Frederic Butler |
| Architectural style(s): | American Neoclassicism |
| Governing body: | State |
| Added to NRHP: | April 3, 1973 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73000427[1] |
The California State Capitol sits in Sacramento, California at the west end of Capitol Park. The grounds are framed by L Street to the north, N Street to the south, 10th Street to the west and 15th Street to the east. The capitol houses the California State Legislature and the office of the Governor of California. The building was constructed in the neoclassical style between 1861 and 1874 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of 1973.
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Exterior
The building is based on the distant Capitol in Washington D.C. The west facade ends in projecting bays as well as a portico projecting from the center of the building. At the base of the portico, seven granite archways brace and support the porch above. Eight fluted Corinthian columns line the portico. A cornice supports the pediment above which depicts Minerva surrounded by Education, Justice, and Mining.
Above the flat roof with balustrade rise two drums supporting a dome. The first drum consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns, the second with Corinthian pilasters. Large arched windows line the drum walls. The dome rises 220 feet, matching the aforementioned dome of the U.S. Capitol. The dome itself supports a lantern with a smaller dome capped with a bright gold ball.
Interior
The California Senate Chamber seats the forty members in big chamber room. The color red envelopes the room in a nod towards the British House of Lords, which like the California Senate is the upper house of a bicameral legislature. The chamber is entered through a second floor corridor. The red carpeting has a Victorian-era design. From the coffered ceiling hangs an electric reproduction of the original gas chandelier. A hand-carved dais caps off a recessed bay framed by Corinthian columns.
The Latin phrase "Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri" ("It is the duty of a senator to protect the liberty of the people") lines the cornice. A portrait of George Washington by Jane Stuart (daughter of Gilbert Stuart) looks down from the wall above. The state seal hangs above.
Gilded Corinthian columns support the gallery above, and dark red curtains are tied back along the columns, but may be drawn for privacy. High arched windows run along the bottom, above are rectangular pane windows. Behind the rostrum are two chairs with red velvet cushions, reserved for the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly, but are never used.
The California Assembly Chamber is located at the opposite end of the Senate. Like the Senate, its green tones are based on British House of Commons, the lower house. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with the central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice appears a quotation from Abraham Lincoln in Latin: legislatorum est justas leges condere ("It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws"). Almost every decorating element is identical to the Senate Chamber.
2001 attack
On January 16, 2001, Michael Bowers, a semi-trailer truck driver with a criminal history, rammed his truck into the southern portico of the California State Capitol, causing his truck's fuel tank to ignite, killing the driver and causing fifteen million dollars in damage.
Gallery
 Senate Chamber |
 Assembly Chamber |
 The State Capitol houses the office of the Governor of California. |
 A statue inside the capitol depicts a Spanish decision to finance a voyage to the New World. |
 Same statue from above |
 Looking up in the rotunda |
 The west side of the Capitol as viewed diagonally from N Street to the south |
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References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2006-03-15. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
External links
Coordinates: 38°34′36″N 121°29′36″W / 38.5765720°N 121.4934107°W
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| Preceded by Unknown |
Tallest Building in Sacramento 1874—1989 69m |
Succeeded by Renaissance Tower |
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