North facade

The Rhode Island State House is the capitol of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Located in the downtown area of the state capital of Providence, the State House is a neoclassical building that houses the Rhode Island General Assembly and the offices of the governor of Rhode Island as well as the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and general treasurer. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The current State House is Rhode Island's seventh state house and the second in Providence. It was designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White and constructed from 1895 to 1904. The building underwent a major renovation in the late 1990s.

The building served as the United States Capitol exterior in the 1997 film Amistad.

Description

The Rhode Island State House is made up of 327,000 cubic feet (9200 m³) of white Georgia marble, 15 million bricks, and 1,309 tons (1187 tonnes) of iron floor beams.

The dome of the State House is the fourth-largest self-supporting dome in the world, after St. Peter's Basilica, the Minnesota State Capitol, and the Taj Mahal. It is the second-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world, only after St. Peter's Basilica.^[1] On top of the dome is a gold-covered bronze statue of Independent Man, originally named "Hope." The statue, weighing more than 500 pounds (230 kg), is 11 feet tall (3.3 m) and stands 278 feet (84.7 m) above the ground. Independent Man represents freedom and independence and alludes to the independent spirit which led Roger Williams to settle and establish Providence and later Rhode Island.

The chamber of the Rhode Island House of Representatives is located in the west wing of the building while the chamber of the Rhode Island Senate is located in the east wing. Other notable rooms in the State House include the rotunda (beneath the dome), the State Library (north end), and the State Room (south end). The State Room serves as the entrance to the offices of the Governor and contains a full-scale portrait of George Washington by Rhode Island native Gilbert Stuart. This room is also where the Governor holds press conferences and bill signings at the State House.

One of the first public buildings to use electricity, the Rhode Island State House is lit by 109 floodlights and two searchlights at night. The State House is also one of the first public buildings in the United States to use skylights, the major ones being in the House of Representatives Chamber, the Senate Chamber, and the State Library.

The building can be seen from I-95, though the Providence Place Mall has blocked much of the view from the northbound lanes.

The Rhode Island State House at sunset

The State House in front of Providence Place Mall

State House from the northwest

State House across the plaza in front of Veterans Memorial Auditorium

References

• Cupolas of Capitalism - State Capitol Building Histories (P-S) (1998-2005). Cupola.com. May 17, 2005.
• Rhode Island Facts and Figures. The State of Rhode Island General Assembly. May 17, 2005.
• Canevari, Casey et al (March 2003). Civics at the State House: Self-Guided Tour. Johnson & Wales University, Office of the Secretary of State Civics and Public Information Division. May 17, 2005.

External links

• Rhode Island State House Tour

• Maps and aerial photos for 41°′″N 71°′″W / 41.830976, -71.415097Coordinates: 41°′″N 71°′″W / 41.830976, -71.415097
  • Maps from WikiMapia, Google Maps, Live Search Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
  • Topographic maps from TopoZone or TerraServer-USA

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