| Texas State Capitol | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
 At the time of its construction, the capitol building was billed as "The Seventh Largest Building in the World."
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| Location: | Congress and 11th Sts Austin, Texas, USA |
| Coordinates: | 30°16′29″N 97°44′26″W / 30.27472°N 97.74056°W |
| Area: | 51.4 acres (20.8 ha) |
| Built/Founded: | 1885 |
| Architect: | Elijah E. Myers |
| Governing body: | State (Texas State Preservation Board) |
| Added to NRHP: | June 22, 1970[1] |
| Designated NHL: | June 23, 1986[2] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 70000770 |
The Texas State Capitol is located in Austin, Texas. It is the fourth building in Austin to serve as the seat of Texas government. It houses the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor of Texas. It was originally designed in 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, who was fired in 1886,[3] and was constructed from 1882–88 under the direction of civil engineer Lindsay Walker. A $75 million underground extension was completed in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[2][4] It is the largest state capitol building in the United States. Although it is popularly believed to be the tallest capitol building in the U.S., the Louisiana State Capitol building is taller by 142 feet (450 feet tall); the Illinois State Capitol is the tallest non-skyscraper capitol at 361 feet tall.[5] Texas' is 308 feet (94 m) tall.[6] It has less square footage than the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., but is fourteen feet taller.[7]
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History
Construction of the Italian Renaissance Revival capitol was funded through an article in the state constitution, adopted February 15, 1876, which authorized the sale of public lands for the purpose. In one of the largest barter transactions in recorded history, the builders of the capitol were paid with over three-million acres (12,000 km²) of public land in the Texas panhandle; this tract later became the largest cattle ranch in the world, the XIT Ranch. The value of the land, combined with out-of-pocket expenses, added to a total cost of $3.7 million for the original building. It was largely constructed by convicts or migrant workers, up to a thousand at a time. The building has been renovated many times, with central air conditioning installed in 1955 and the most recent refurbishments completed in 1997.
The cornerstone for the building was laid on March 2, 1885, Texas Independence Day, and the completed building was opened to the public on April 21, 1888, San Jacinto Day. The building was originally planned to be constructed entirely of limestone from Oatmanville (present-day Oak Hill), about ten miles to the southwest. However, the limestone was found to have a high iron content after it began to discolor. Hearing of the problem, the owners of Granite Mountain near Marble Falls offered to donate to the state, free of charge, the necessary amount of pink granite as an alternative. While the building is mostly built of the Oak Hill limestone, most of it is hidden behind the walls and on the foundations. Pink granite was subsequently used in many state government buildings in the Austin area.
The capitol rotunda features portraits of every person who has served as president of the Republic of Texas or governor of the state of Texas. The south foyer features sculptures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin made by Elisabeth Ney. The rotunda also acts as a whispering gallery. The capitol has 360,000 square feet (33,000 square meters) of floor space, more than any other state capitol building, and sits on 2 1/4 acres (.9 hectares) of land. The building has nearly four hundred rooms and over nine hundred windows.
The Texas State Capitol was ranked ninety-second in the "America's Favorite Architecture" poll commissioned by the American Institute of Architects, that ranked the top hundred-and-fifty favorite architectural projects in America as of 2007. In a 2008 poll by the AIA, it was also ranked the number-one state capitol.
A granite monument of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol was at the center of a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case, Van Orden v. Perry, in which the display was challenged as unconstitutional. In late June 2005, the Court ruled that the display was not unconstitutional.
Gallery
 The Capitol Building illuminated at night |
 The Texas House of Representatives Chamber |
 Texas Senate Chamber |
 Terrazo mosaic of reverse seal of Texas, showing the six flags of Texas. In Capitol Extension |
 Ten Commandments display on north side of Capitol. |
 Goddess of Liberty statue atop the building |
 The Capitol dome's interior. |
 The Capitol Dome lit brightly. |
 Terrazo mosaic depicting the seals of the six nations that have governed Texas |
 South side of Capitol at night |
South side of the Capitol, with main entrance at right. |
 The Capitol Building at night |
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ a b "Texas State Capitol". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1016&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl: Elijah E. Myers from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
- ^ John C. Ferguson (December, 1985), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Texas State CapitolPDF (32 KB), National Park Service and Accompanying 11 photos, exterior and interior, from 1980 and 1985PDF (32 KB)
- ^ "The Louisiana State Capitol Building". http://www.crt.state.la.us/tourism/capitol/capitol.htm.
- ^ "Texas House of Representatives". http://www.house.state.tx.us/resources/history.htm.
- ^ Texas Capitol State Preservation Board, Caretakers of the Texas Capitol. Last accessed January 10, 2008.
External links
- Texas State Preservation Board - Maintainers of the Capitol
- Library of Congress: architectural drawings and photographs of the Texas State capitol
- Capitol Dedication Ceremony - Excerpts from Senator Temple Houston’s acceptance (of the capitol building) speech May 16, 1888TexasBob.com
- Americas's Favorite Architecture
- Capitol from the Handbook of Texas Online
- www.TexasCapitolVisitorsCenter.com
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Texas State Capitol |
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| Preceded by Unknown |
Tallest Building in Austin 1888—1972 95m |
Succeeded by Dobie Center |
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